It's Hard to say I love you
by Elover05
Summary: So, this is just Sophie and her friends trip through a boarding school high school thing. Human AU. This is a SoKeefe Story, and it's really just one big piece of fluff! (I suck at summaries, I promise this story is better than it sounds.)
1. First Meeting

Hey Guys! I'm so glad you have chosen to read my story! So, just in case you didn't catch it in the summery, this whole story is basically just one big fluffy piece of Sokeefe goodness (Or, I hope it's good. You tell me!). Also, please don't be to harsh on me it I get something messed up. While I do encourage constructive criticism, please don't just hate on this story for no reason! Also, I don't have an updating pattern, and I am a bit slow, so the updates might take long, but please just bear with me here! Anyway, I bet I'm just boring you with all his talk, so without further ado, here is my story!

My life was all figured out until A little while ago. I had my best friends (Fitz, Biana, and Dex) I was in my first month of my freshman year in college. My schedule was always prepared a week in advance. I had two part time jobs, one at a cafe down the street called 'veloce beatitudine' and one at a candy shop called "Sweet's 'n Treat's" My life was absolutely perfect. And then their was 'the incident' as I like to call it.

I had already woken up in a bad mood. I was walking down the hall to get to my class with about 5 books stacked in my arms, when I ran into the school's bully Stina. I literally ran into her, knocking both of us a few steps backwards. Apparently she wasn't in a good mood either, because she was meaner than normal.

"Watch where you're going Freak!" She sneered. I could hear snickers from the crowd watching and my cheeks flushed.

"Sorry." I mumbled, trying to turn away, but apparently, Stina wasn't done.

"Look at the little freak! Trying to take the coward's way out." More laughs from the crowd. I desperately try to find an escape. Before I could, Stina strut past me. "You're not worth my time." She said dismissively, walking past me. I breathed out a sigh of relief. That could've gone much worse.

I started to walk the opposite direction when, as a final attack, Stina stuck her foot out in front of me, successfully making me topple over, and sending my books flying. I blinked back tears from my eyes as the crowd erupted into a fit of hysterical laughter.

Somewhere in the mists of the crowd I could hear a deep voice say something. I looked up to find a tall guy looking over me. He was probably a junior. He had sparkling ice blue eyes and perfectly disheveled hair. His uniform was wrinkled and sloppy, but he somehow managed to look good in. I could tell, just from looking at him, that he was cool. Someone that everyone wanted to be friends with. It took me a few moments to realize that I was staring."Are you okay?" His voice was concerned, like he actually cared. My lower lip trembled. I tore my eyes away from his, which was a feat that took way too much effort, and before anyone could stop me, I had run off.

I didn't even realize where I was going until I ended up in the bathroom. I locked myself in a stall and buried my face my hands, trying to muffle the sobs. I curled into a ball. I wasn't even sure why I was reacting like this. It wasn't like this was a big deal. It just felt like something had snapped.

Once I managed to get my breathing under control, I exited the stall and stared into the mirror. My eyes were a bit puffy, but other than that, I looked okay. I glanced at my watch.

Crap. I was five minutes late, and my books were probably still scattered all over the hallway. I wipe the last of the tears away from my eyes and rush out of the bathroom. I didn't get more than a foot away from the door when a vaguely familiar voice called "Finally! Seriously, how long does it take a girl too go too the bathroom? You were in there for, like, 7 minutes!"

I spun around to face the boy who had spoken. His ice blue eyes met mine, and my heart switched too hummingbird mode at his smirk. "I think these are yours." He held out all five of my text books. I wrinkled my brow. What was he playing at? Did he want something? "So... Are you gonna take them, or are you just gonna stand there staring?"

I shook my head, trying to knock the sense back into me. I reached out and grabbed the books, looking at the floor, not quite brave enough to meet his eyes. I started walking to my class, and he followed close behind. Seriously, what did he want?

"I'm Keefe. Keefe Sencen." I nodded, and a few seconds of awkward silence passed before he spoke again. "So, you got a name? Or should I just call you 'Hey There?" I rolled my eyes, but a smile tugged at my lips.

"Sophie. Sophie Foster." A grin spread on his face.

"So you can speak. Interesting." I glanced at him. Why was he even here? "So Foster, where are we going?"

"Foster?" I asked, completely ignoring his other question. "You did hear that my first name was Sophie, right?." He frowned.

"Well what's the fun in that? It's just so... so..."

"Normal?" I suggested at the same time as he said "Boring." I raised my eyebrow.

"Should I be offended?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Take It as a compliment that i think you're too cool to be called a boring name. I let out an exasperated sigh, trying to figure out if that logic worked.. "And you never answered my question."

"That's because it's none of your business" I snapped.

"Okay, someone's a little feisty today." he teased, nudging me. I shook my head and a little laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "Will you at least tell me where your dorm room is?" I shot him a glance.

"Why?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. So I can come see you. Isn't that what friends do?"

"Friends?" I blurted out the word without thinking about it. Since when did cute boys want to be my friend? Sure there was Fitz, but that was different. He was only my friend because our parents knew each other. But Keefe? I had never even met him. "I mean... 143. My dorm room is 143."

"I'll keep that in mind." He winked and my heart got a warm fluttery feeling. I glanced at the door we were passing, stopping when I realised that it was my class.

"Well this is my class, so I'd better go." I said, reaching out to open the door.

"Or" Keefe said before I could open the door. "You could ditch with me." He offered. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not sure about you, but I actually care about my grades." Keefe shrugged.

"Your loss. Mrs. Galven is terrible." I glanced at him.

"How did you know?"

"I had her when I was a freshman. She hated me with a passion, but that may have to do with the time I _accidently_ made the formula i was making explode all over her. I wouldn't mention we're friends if I were you." Something about the way he said 'accidently' made me wonder if it was really an accident.

"Well, I better go in if I don't want too many detentions." He shrugged.

"Well, See ya 'round, Foster" He said, starting to walk away. For a second I stood there, watching him leave. Then I came to my senses and turned around to face the door. I reached out to open the door. What was the worst that could happen?

I took a deep breath, and then opened the door.

"Miss Foster" Mrs. Galvin said. "It's so kind of you to finally join us." Her words were almost dripping with sarcasm. I heard a few people snicker, and my cheeks flushed.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." I said, taking the empty seat near the door.

"Care to tell the class where you've been?" She asked. I looked down at my feet, wishing I could disappear.

"I was in the bathroom." I said. It wasn't a complete lie. I had been in the bathroom at first. Mrs. Galvin was apparently not impressed.

"For 15 minutes?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. 15 minutes? I glanced at my watch. Crap. I was later than I thought I was.

"I got lost." I bluffed, hoping she wouldn't press further. For some reason, I didn't want to tell the entire class about Keefe. I glanced up at her, and I could tell that she didn't believe me. I expected her to call me out on my lie, but she just sighed and said.

"Well, that a weeks detention for you." I breathed out a sigh of relief. That went better than expected. Mrs. Galven turned back to the rest of the class and returned to her speech. I tried to pay attention, I really did, but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about my earlier conversation with Keefe. At random times, his disheveled blond hair and ice blue eyes would pop into my mind. I would have to find out more about him when school was over.

Okay! I hop you enjoyed that, and please review telling me what you think! Also, I know I didn't really include many characters other than Sophie and Keefe in this, but I promise there will be more Biana, Fitz, and Dex in the later chapters! Well, I'll see you next time! :)


	2. Hello Again

**Hey! I'm back! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one too! Here is chapter 2!**

I heard the door to my dorm room burst open and slam shut as Biana, my roommate and best friend, strode into the room

"Detention! For a Week? But you need to help me study!" I put down the book I was reading and looked up at her.

"You heard about that, huh?" Biana rolled her eyes.

"The whole school has heard about that! You never get dentition! What happened?"she asked, flopping onto her bed. I sighed.

"It's complicated." Biana raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'It's complicated'?" I opened my mouth to explain,but a knock at the door cut me off.

"That's probably Dex, here too complain about the same thing. You better be ready to spill!" She shouted, walking over to answer the door as I flopped down onto my bed and buried my face in the familiar white bedding.. This was _so_ not going like I wanted it to.

"Hey De- uhh... You're not Dex." I heard from the other side of the room.

"Great observation skills." A familiar voice replied. I perked up. Was that keefe?

"Uh... not too be rude, but who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Well, My name is Keefe Sencen, and I've come to see if Sophie foster was here?" I cocked my head. He had actually remembered my dorm room? I really hadn't expected him too.

I looked up from where my head was buried in my bedding too see Biana look from me, too keefe, then too me again with an arched eyebrow as if to say "Keefe Sencen? Really?" I shrugged. Biana sighed and turned back to the door.

"She's all yours." She said, gesturing for Keefe to come in. Keefe looked around the room, his eyes settling on me, where I was still flopped into my bed. "Well Uhh... I'll just... be going." Biana said awkwardly, slipping out of the room I flopped my head back down into my sheets.

"Hey" Keefe said casually, as if it was an everyday thing for him to be talking to a person with their face buried in their bed.

"Hey" I responded, although my voice was muffled, so I wasn't sure if he could make out what i was saying.

"Is this how you greet all the people who come to see you? Or am I just special?" His voice was a little closer now, and I peeked up to see that he had knelt down so our faces were at the same level.

I was on the verge of saying ' _No one comes to see me_ ' But I decided that that wouldn't be the best tactic for making friends. So instead, I replied with "Just you." I could almost feel his smirk.

I felt him slide his hand under my chin, and raise my head up so I was looking at him. "Ya know, it's normal for people to look at each other when they have a conversation. Maybe you should try it sometime." I shrugged.

"I thought you didn't like normal." I replied. Keefe smiled a lopsided smile.

"Touché" He said with a chuckle. "But, really, I can't hear you when your voice is muffled by your bed." He said, plopping down next to me. "And I really like the sound of your voice." He added jokingly. I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway.

"Whatever loser." Keefe pouted at me.

"Hey! I'm cool!" He said. I smiled, finally sitting up next to him.

"Sure you are." I said sarcastically. Keefe gasped, a mock-hurt look on his face.

"Are you trying to imply that I'm not cool!" I giggled and nodded. He gasped again. "Take that back!" He demanded. I bit my lip and shook my head, refusing to take back what I had said. He huffed. "Fine. I didn't want to do this, but you have left me no choice." Suddenly, keefe Pulled me down so my back was lying on his lap. I was about to ask his what he was doing, when he started tickling me mercilessly.

I shrieked and thrashed, but Keefe kept a firm hold on me, refusing to let me go. "Put me down!" I demanded through my giggles. Keefe smirked at me.

"Not until you admit that I'm cool Foster!" I shook my head.

"Never!" I choked out. Keefe shrugged.

"Okay, then I guess I'll just have to keep tickling you!" His fingers sped up on my stomach, and he placed a hand over my mouth so the people outside wouldn't hear me screaming.

"Okay, okay! Fine!" I said, Keefe stopped tickling me and lifted his hand from over my mouth. from my mouth. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Keefe raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to say something. "Fine. I give. Your cool." Keefe beamed at me.

I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. He was cute when he smiled. That thought caught me off guard. Why was I thinking about how cute Keefe was? Sure, he was cute, but I just met him. Plus, I wasn't open to a relationship at the moment. First, I wanted to move out, stand on my own two feet, without relying on my parents or friends. I wanted to start a life for myself. Then maybe I would be open to a relationship. But not now. I was only 17. And besides, he had to have a girlfriend. I mean, look at him! He was handsome, and you could tell by just looking at him that he was probably one of the most popular boys in school. I was awoken from my thoughts by Keefe saying "Hello? Earth to Foster?" I blinked a few times. I was still on Keefe's lap.

"W-What?" I asked, confused. Keefe smiled.

"You're cute when you're flustered. Did you know that?" I blushed fiercely and averted my eyes. "And when you blush. You're cute then, too."

"Can I get up now?" I asked him, already trying to switch into a sitting position. He grinned and shook his head, placing his hand on my stomach to push me back down.

"Nope!" He said, popping the 'p'.I crossed my arms and glared at chuckled. "You can glare at me all you want Foster, I'm still not letting you up.".

"Please?"I Pouted, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. His eyes narrowed.

"You're using the Puppy dog eyes? That's dirty play Foster." But he did let me sit up. I bit my lip, trying to hold back a smile. Why was I enjoying this so much?

After He let me sit up, there was a moment of silence where neither of us really knew what to say. What do you talk about to a stranger you just met? I racked my brain, searching for some way to break the ice that had seemed to form between us again.

"Anyway, is there a reason you decided to show up here?" I asked. He smiled, ad was beginning to reply, when a ringing cut him off. My heart leaped and I jumped in sudden jerk of my body caused me to lose my balance, and I went tumbling off my bed, landing with an yelp into a pile of dirty laundry Biana had left on the floor. The smell of old socks and sweaty shirts filled my nose. I made a mental not to kill Biana the next time I saw her. Who leaves dirty laundry on the floor next to someone else's bed? I sat up, groaning. I tried to straighten my hair, when I realised that in my great fall, something had gotten caught in the mess that was my hair. I tried to give it a hard tug, only managing to make myself yelp in pain.

"You okay over there?" Keefe asked, and I could tell without even looking at him that he was trying-and failing-to hold in his laughter. I jumped again at the reminder that I still had a house guest. Figures. Because falling spectacularly of my bed, landing in a pile of dirty laundry, and getting this laundry stuck in my hair wasn't bad enough. No, that wasn't enough torture for me. I had to have Keefe Sencen watch the entire thing.

"I'm fine." I say, trying to give the unidentified piece of laundry another tug, trying harder to separate it from my hair.

"You don't look fine." He said.

"Then stop looking!" I snapped at him. He threw his hands up in mock surrender. Another loud ring from his phone reminded me that it was still ringing. "You going to get that?" I asked him. He sighed.

"But I was having such a great time watching you!" He complained, smirking. I fixed him with a blank stare. "Okay, okay! Easy on the glaring, Foster." He said reaching for his phone.

I went back to trying to sort through my mess of hair. Tugging on it wasn't working, so I was gonna have to try and untangle it logically. I felt for what was caught, which turned out to be a metal clip. I tried to feel around it to see where my hair had tangled around it and undo them, but I somehow made it into an even more tangled mess.

I let out a frustrated sigh. What was I going to do? I couldn't ask Keefe for help. That would be absolutely mortifying. And no way was I going to try to cut my hair. I could ask for Biana's help once Keefe left, but how was I going to get him to leave?

"Okay... Yeah... Fine... Can it wait?... Okay fine... See you there... Bye." Keefe sighed as he hung up the phone. "Look Foster, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go. And first, I'm helping you get that bra out of your hair."

My slight curiosity at who he was talking to turned to horror. "It's a bra?!" Great. Just as I thought the situation couldn't get any worse, It had to be a bra. Keefe smirked at me.

"Yup. And I'm getting it out of your hair. Come here." I stood up, blushing fiercely. "You're cute when you blush. Did you know that?" I felt myself blushing even more, and I was sure I was the color of a fire truck. Because Keefe Sencen just called me cute, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It was just friendly teasing... Right? Because there is no possible way someone like Keefe thinks of me like that. It had to be friendly teasing.

I walked my way over to Keefe so he could figure out how to get the bra out of my hair. "So... Was that your girlfriend on the phone?" I'm not quite sure what prompted that question. Probably just my curiosity.

Keefe chuckled softly behind me, still working on my hair. "Is that your subtle way of asking if I have a girlfriend?"

"What? No! I mean... It-it wasn't that I just... Oh nevermind." I said, flustered. Out of all the things I could've picked I picked girlfriend. I could of said brother or sister of just friend but nooooo I had to pick girlfriend. I was such an idiot sometimes.

"Well, no that wasn't my girlfriend, and no, I don't have a girlfriend. If you were wondering. It was my mom, she wants to meet up. I don't know why it couldn't wait."

"Oh." I said softly. I racked my brain for something to say, but Keefe beat me to it.

"How did you manage to do this to your hair! It's gotta be a world record in some category." I laughed.

"Oh? And what category would that fit into? 'Worst hair knot', or 'worst fall into a pile of laundry'?" Keefe laughed as he finally got the bra out of my hair, and handed it to me.

"Both I think. He decided. I smiled. "Well, see ya later." He started walking out of the room.

"Wait!" I said, and then immediately regretted it. How was I going to ask the question I wanted to ask without it sounding like I was into him.

"Yeah?" He asked turning around.

"Uh... Could I have your phone number?" I blurted. I felt my cheeks flush, and immediately rushed to explain what I meant. "Like not in a boyfriend/girlfriend sort of a way, but as in, like, friends who share their phone numbers. Like my friend Fitz and I have each other's phone numbers, and we're not dating or anything, because I'm not dating anyone, but we can call each other in a friend way if one of us-" I was cut off by Keefe placing a hand over my mouth.  
"Yes you can have my phone number, Foster." He said with an exaggerated wink. I felt myself blush and I gently tugged out an itchy eyelash. "Just let me see your phone real quick." I reached in my pocket, pulling out my phone and handing it to him. He clicked the on button.

"I need the password." He said, handing it back to me. I blushed as I typed in my password. How could I have forgotten it needed a password? I was so stupid. I opened the contacts so he could enter his information.

By the time he had finished, I had pulled out so many eyelashes, I was pretty sure I had a bald spot. "Here you go." He said, handing it back to me with a wink. I looked down at his contact. He had named himself 'The Mighty Keefester' With a winking emoji next to it. I blushed and smiled at him.

"Thanks." I said shyly. "I'll see you later?" Keefe grinned.

"You can count on that Foster. I'll promise you that much." He said.

What did that mean? WAs he trying to imply that he wanted to see me, or was going to have too see me. Maybe it meant that the school was small enough that we were going to see each other at some point in the halls or something. Where was Biana (My official translator for the language of boy) when I needed her?

Keefe reached out and opened the door- and Biana, Fitz, and Dex came tumbling in. They obviously had been listening to the conversation with their ears pressed to the door. Keefe raised his eyebrows. "You must be Foster's bodyguards. What did you think I was going to do? Murder her?!' He asked. Biana shrugged, flashing a charming smile.

"It was well within the realm of possibility." was her only reply. That was Biana for you. She was really loyal and overprotective of her friends.

"Well, I gotta go. See ya Foster!" He said with wink. "Oh, and see you to bodyguards!" he said with a cheesy salute. Biana rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile appeared on her lips. Keefe slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Everyone's eyes settled on me.

"Explain" Biana demanded, at the same time as Fitz said "Who was he?" I sighed. Could this night get anymore embarrassing?

 **Please tell me what you think in the reviews! 3**


	3. Movie Night

"So... After being bullied by Stina-Which you totally should've told us about sooner. We could've helped-A strange man followed you into the bathroom, and you decided "Hey! Let's tell this man who stalked me and I just met where I live!" Did I get that right"? Dex asked after I had finished my explanation.

"Well when you put it like that it just sounds creepy." I justified. Fitz raised an eyebrow.

"So how would you like to say it?" He inquired. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe: I met a guy, became his friend, and did some of the normal stuff friends do, like telling each other where they live so they can meet up and chat."

"Well, yeah, but that is _Keefe Sencen!_ He's not just some normal boy! I mean, you don't just meet Keefe Sencen and become his friend!" Biana said. I furrowed my brown in confusion. What did _that_ mean? Keefe was just a boy. Sure, a rather handsome and a probably popular boy, but a normal boy nonetheless. Fitz seemed to notice my confusion.

"You don't know who he is, do you?" He asked me. I raised my eyebrow.

"Of course I do. He's Keefe Sencen. A funny guy who ditches classes. What else is there to know about him?" Biana, Dex and Fitz all looked at each other weirdly.

"Sophie, do you know who his parents are?" Dex asked timidly. I shook my head. _What did that have to do with anything?_ "His parentsare Cassius Sencen and Geisla Sencen." I gave him a blank look.

"You know, the singer and movie star?" Biana intervened. I gave her the same uncomprehending stare. "You know, 'Power couple of 2016?' Does this ring a bell? I bit my lip, thinking. I wasn't the kind of girl who read those magazines with their 'Power Couples'. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

"So... what? He's famous?" Biana looked at me like I was insane.

"Of course he's famous! Fashion designers keep trying to get him into modeling, but he always turns them down with 'No Comment'. Everyone keeps trying to get an interview or something with him, but he always turns them down. People try and get news on him by trying to figure out who he's dating. Which changes quite frequently." I frowned at that last comment. _'Which changes quite frequently'_ What did Biana mean by that?

"He isn't dating anyone now." I mumbled. At least, that's what he had told me. Biana gaped at me.

"Please don't tell me you asked if he was single! Sophie, he's gonna think you're into him, and He's a playboy. He's had, like, 4 girlfriends just in this school year, and it's only been 1 ½ months since school started! He'll stick around for a week or two, and then he'll leave without an explanation. That's what every one of his girlfriends said!" I sighed. WAs Keefe really like that? He had seemed so nice. I had actually started liking him (As a friend. He was nothing more than a friend.).

"First of all, I didn't really ask if he was got a phone call, and I asked if it was his girlfriend who was calling him, and he said he didn't have a girlfriend. Second, I have no intention of dating Keefe, fame or not. Isn't it possible to have a friend of the opposite gender without liking them in a sexual way? I mean, I'm friends with Fitz, and we're just friends, right?"

"Fitz ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Biana is just worried about don't want to see you get hurt. Plus, she is exaggerating a bit. It was actually only 2 official girlfriends, and they both broke up, he didn't just leave. But Biana is right about being a playboy. He never stays in a relationship for very long." I bit my lip. Keefe couldn't just be a playboy, could he? He seemed to actually like my personality. Or maybe I was just deluding myself to think that people like him could actually think of me as a friend. It was all so confusing! It made me want to... Actually, I didn't know what I wanted to do. Scream into a pillow maybe?

"But still, be careful. You can be his friend, I think, but if anyone gets so much as a picture of you talking, the media will go crazy, thinking he's found his next girlfriend. You won't be able to go anywhere without people trying to interview you and expose you." Dex added. A Sophie buried her face in her hands.

"So what you're saying is, I can be friends with him, I just can't talk to him?" I asked Dex shrugged sheepishly.

"You know what? Let's not talk about this tonight! We're supposed to be having movie night tonight! Let's not let a boy ruin that! And tomorrow it's saturday, so we can talk about him all day long." Biana suggested. I smiled. She always seemed to know how to lighten the mood.

"You know what? You're right. Let's watch a movie. I'll get the popcorn!" I said, jumping to my feet.

Dex smiled. He seemed to be relived in the change of subject. "I'll set up the Projector and get the movie. It's my turn, so were watching Star Wars tonight!" I laughed at Dex's choice in movie. He was a major geek, (And I say that in the best way possible) And loved Sci-Fi movies. He definitely won the prize for 'Best cousin ever'.

"I'll grab the Blankets!" Biana shouted, running into the cabinet where we kept spare blankets and sheets. I threw three bags of instant popcorn in the microwave.

"And I'll... Just wait here I guess." Fitz said. I chuckled as I pulled the popcorn out of the microwave and put it in 2 separate bowls, One for me and Dex to share, and One for Fitz and Biana to share. (We had once tried to use only one bowl, but it always got a bit weird when you had the options of either having to reach over three people to get some popcorn, or had to interrupt the movie by asking whoever had the popcorn to pass it over in order to eat it.)

After everything was set up, I took my usual spot on the floor between Dex and Biana, with Fitz the other side of Biana. I snuggled into my blankets as the movie began.

Movie night was a long time tradition for me and my friends. We would make popcorn, and set large amounts of blankets on the floor so we could watch a movie. It all started when Biana was complaining that I was too stressed about school. She proposed that every Friday we had a movie night to relax as we started the weekend. The idea caught on quickly, and every Friday, someone brought a movie.

We had a pattern where Biana would choose a movie, and then Dex would and then Fitz and then me. Biana loved to bring in Romantic Comedies, (Or 'Rom-Coms' as she referred to them.) and although I would never admit it, I actually enjoyed some of them. Not all of them, but some of them. Dex, as I said before, loved Sci-Fi, so we were usually watching something like Star Wars or X-Men. Fitz Mostly just brought in Realistic Fiction movies. As for me, I commonly brought in Harry Potter or Pixar or Disney films, like Finding Nemo/Dory or the Good Dinosaur. It might of been a little cheesy, but I actually liked the sweet films.

I settled back into the pillow as the movie started. I managed to force Keefe out of my mind. This was a movie night with friends, and I would not, I repeat _would not_ , have Keefe ruin it.

 **So, I dunno about you, but I actually kinda like this chapter. Sorry that there wasn't much SoKeefe in it, but I am going to include the other characters as well. But I promise, SoKeefe will be the main feature n this story. Oh, and I will be including Tam and Lihn in this story, but that will be a little later on. Anyway, please review, and I'll see you whenever I post next. Bye!**


	4. Library

**Hey guys! So, In this chapter, I mentioned a book series called Mistborn, which was written by Brandon Sanderson. This is a real book series, and I do not own any part of it. I love that series, However, it is a little more mature than the KOTLC books. It has slight swearing and some heavy violence, but if you can handle stuff like that, and are in to Young adult/Adult fantasy, I highly recommend that to you! Anyway, on to the story!**

I groaned as I opened my eyes. I didn't remember exactly when I had fallen asleep, but I knew I didn't make it to the end of the movie, because I wasn't in my bed. Instead, I was covered in blankets on the wooded floor of my Dorm room.

I shielded my eyes from the light that shone, wondering how Biana turning on the light's hadn't woken me up. I must've been really tired.

Once I had gotten used to the light I propped myself up on my elbows, searching the room for Biana. She usually slept in later than I did, but the light was on, so I assumed she was awake. "Biana?" I called when I didn't see her.

The bathroom door cracked open, and Biana poked her head through, a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth.

"Well it's about time!" She exclaimed, her words slightly muffled from the toothbrush. "I was beginning to think you had died!" I rubbed my eye with the palm of my hand, while my groggy brain tried to process her words.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily. Biana checked her watch

"11:22. No wait, now it's 11:23" I flopped back down in bed. I knew I should probably of stood up, but the sleep was so peaceful. Biana caught me before I drifted back to sleep though. "Hey! No more sleeping! You have to help my study, because you won't be able to help me Monday through Friday because you got detention." She shouted at me. I curled up onto my side.

"I just want a few more hours." I mumbled sleepily. Biana laughed.

"Wow. You must be really tired." She said, sounding very amused

"It was a big day yesterday" I sighed as I cuddled closer into the blankets.

"Yeah. I mean, getting your first crush really is exhausting, isn't it?" She teased. I had already mumbled 'Yeah" before I realised what she said. My eyes snapped open.

"Wait, what?" I yelped. Biana laughed. "I do not have a crush on Keefe!" I shouted. She crossed her arms across her chest and arched an eyebrow.

" _Riiiight_ " She teased. "You totally weren't looking at him with doey eyes the entire time he was here" I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.

"That is not what happened!" I growled. "Besides, i thought you didn't want me to go out with him because he's a famous playboy" I said before flopping back down and closing my eyes.

"Well, yeah, but maybe you could be the sweet shy girl who meets the bad boy, and you fall in love, and he realises that the only reason he never stayed with a girl is because he was looking for someone like you. And then you could have a secret relationship. And then Keefe would finally reveal you to the public by proposing on stage, and you would become America's next sweetheart!" Biana said dreamily. Yeah. Like that was ever going to happen.

"You watch way too many romance movies. Stuff like that never happens in real life." I informed her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep."

" _Soooopppphhhie!_ " Bina complained "Get up!" She groaned. When I didn't make any effort to move, she leaned down and started pulling my arm up. "Come help me study! I told Dex and Fitz we would be in the library by 12, and it's already 11:27!"

"Okay, okay! I'm coming." I groaned as I sat up. Suddenly a pair of clothes hit my head.

"Now, get changed and all that. I'll meet you at the library!" Biana shouted as she slipped out the door. I sighed but smiled at my best friend.

I hopped into the bathroom and started the shower, letting the warm water run over me, cleaning away any dirt I had gotten the previous day. I always felt relaxed in the shower. Peaceful. As I started to put shampoo in my hair, I let my mind wander to Keefe. Even if he was a playboy, we could still be friends, right? But what was I going to do if he was just using me like he used the other girls? No, he wouldn't do that. He didn't look like he was just using me when we were hanging out. He looked like he was having fun. But what did I know? It wasn't like I was a mind reader. **(A/N Did you see what I did there?)**

My only option was to make it clear that I was just a friend. That couldn't be to hard. I mean, it wasn't like I was starting to form a crush on him, right? I barely knew him.

After I was done in the shower, I slipped into the clothes Biana threw at me. They were nothing special, just a dark blue t-shirt and black jeans. I brushed my hair and teeth, threw my hair into a loose pony tail, and headed to the library to meet Biana, Fitz and Dex.

The study session went by pretty quickly. We were studying history, because Fitz had a test about it in a week, so we brushed up on that. Mostly we just studied boring books about World War 1. All in all it was pretty uneventful. That was until we were leaving.

I was almost out of the library, when one of the librarians called out to me. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later" I told my group. They nodded and left to go grab some lunch at the boys dorm.

"Yes Ms. Nash?" Ms. Nash was the head librarian, and because I spent so much time in there, we had become friends, bonding over our love of books. She liked books because they gave her something to dream about. I liked books because they let me escape from reality if things ever got to hard for me.

"I just wanted to tell you that The Hero of Ages arrived today, and I can check it out to you before someone else takes it if you want." I let out a happy squeal and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you!" I exclaimed. The Hero of Ages was the third and last book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. The other librarian Mrs. Crissy, suggested the series to me, and I instantly fell in love with the characters and the plot.

Ms. Nask checked out the book and handed it to me. "See you later, Soph." She said happily. As I said, the librarians were good friends of mine.

I turned around, going fast because I was in a rush to catch up with my friends, and collided with somethings. Or rather, I collided with someone.

I yelped, and for a second, I was falling. I was to shocked to react, but even if I had been able to react, I'm not sure what I would've done. I had nothing to grab onto. All I could do was think "I'm falling." And brace myself for the impact. Fortunately for me, Keefe had faster reflexes than I did. He reached out and caught me mid-fall.

"You okay there Foster?" Keefe asked with amusement in his voice. I blushed and stood up carefully, trying to hide behind my hair.

"Yeah. Sorry about crashing into you." I said with a nervous laugh. I tugged out a loose eyelash, wondering what I must look like to Keefe. Crashing into a pile of laundry yesterday, and now this? I must've seemed like a clumsy fool. Then again, that wasn't far off from who I really was. Or at least, I was clumsy.

"Oh, It's no problem. I was hoping I would run into you, I just wasn't hoping for it to happen so literally." He laughed. "So what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was studying with my friends." I explained. "What about you?" I asked. Keefe didn't seem like the type to hang out in libraries.

"Oh, nothing." The pink tint on his cheeks implied that he was lying, but I didn't push it. It was his business, not mine. "And you didn't check your phone last night"

I furrowed my brow, confused as I pulled out my phone. "You texted me 84 times?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I was bored." He said.

"Okay, first of all" I began to leave the library, turning to wave goodbye to Ms. Nash. She had this look in her eyes as she waved back at me. It kinda reminded me of the look Edaline-My adopted mom-got when Fitz or Dex came over. Like she was already planning the wedding. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Keefe, finishing my earlier sentence. "Who has time to text someone 84 times?" Keefe shrugged, smirking. "And second, how the heck did you get my number?"

Keefe's smirk turned into a crooked grin. "Well, you asked for my number, so I thought it was only fair to get your's." He said.

"Yeah, okay, but _how_ did you get it?" I asked again. Keefe's grin widened.

"I am incredibly powerful and mysterious" He said with an overly dramatic wave of his hands. I fixed him with a glare. "Okay, okay, fine." He sighed. "Take all the fun out of everything. I saw it when I was putting my contact info into your phone." He explained That made some sense but...

"And you remembered it?" I asked skeptically.

"Photographic memory" keefe explained, tapping his head twice. I stared at him.

"You too? I asked in amazement. He raised an eyebrow.

"You have a photographic memory? Then why do you even need to study?" He asked.

"Well, mostly I do it to help out My friends. But it also helps if the teacher forgot to mention something." I explained. Keefe seemed to think that was fair.

A few seconds of comfortable silence passed before I broke the silence by asking "So how did that meet-up with your mom go?" Keefe scowled, and I immediately regretted asking.

"Boring, as usual. Just a bunch of snooty people at a snooty restaurant." I felt a pang of sympathy. It must be pretty hard, growing up with famous parents, everyone expecting you to live up to them. Especially if you were a guy like Keefe, who much preferred making trouble than having fancy nights out.

"But let's not talk about it. I've almost died of boredom just thinking about it." He said. "How was your day after I left?" He asked.

"Biana want's us to get married." I didn't mean to say that. I really didn't. I was just having such a good time talking to him, it sorta slipped out.

Keefe burst into laughter. "She wants us to _what?!"_ He wheezed as he finished laughing. My cheeks burned.

"She wasn't serious!" I hastily tried to explain. "It was just a joke, really!" I didn't know who I was trying to convince: Myself, or him. Maybe both. "Anyway, how was-"

"Woah woah woah, back the T-rex up! You are not changing the subject on me, Foster. Explain exactly why this Biana girl want's us married."

I groaned in defeat. "Biana's the girl who said that it was 'well in the realm of possibilities' that you might've murdered me. The brown haired 'bodyguard' with teal eyes." I saw the realization dawn on his face. "Anyway, she wants me and you to be the cliche 'bad boy falls in love with the good girl', and then she wants to hide our supposed relationship from the public, until you purpose to me on stage, and I become 'America's next sweetheart'" I explained as hastily as i could. Keefe smirked, but it looked strained

"So, you found out about the whole 'famous' and 'on stage' thing, huh?" He asked. He sounded almost disappointed.

"How long did you think I would stay in the dark?" I asked. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"Honestly? I knew the cover wouldn't last long. But it was kinda nice, ya know? Talking to someone who didn't know who you were. It was one of the things that attracted me to you." A faint blush spread over his cheeks. "In a friend way, of course." He added after a couple seconds.

I nodded. "I guess i sorta get it. But I don't plan to treat you like royalty or anything, it that helps." I told him with a smile. He grinned back at me.

"Oh, you should still treat me like royalty, just not because of my parents." He said cockily "I mean, I outshine them by a mile!" He stuck a dramatic pose, and I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Sure you do, Mr. Ego" I said in my most sarcastic voice. Keefe scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Foster. You're just jealous because you could Never be cooler than The Mighty Keefester!" He struck an even more dramatic pose than last time.

I shook my head, and shoved him. "You're impossible!" The crooked grin that took over his face made my heart flutter, though I'm not sure why.

"That is the greatest compliment I could ever receive." I opened my mouth to respond when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Biana.

"Where r u?" The text read. "We've been waiting 4 hours!" I sighed at Biana's overly dramatic and exaggerated text, and turned back to Keefe.

"Well, I gotta go, but I'll um... I'll see you around." Keefe sighed.

"May I ask who is depriving me of my limited time with the one and only Foster?" I smiled.

"Biana. And Dex. And Fitz." I explained.

"Ahh. Their your bodyguards, right?" He asked.

"No, they aren't actually bodyguards. Just really, really overprotective friends." I explained

"Well, that makes sense." I was turning around to leave when Keefe said "Hey, do you think you could drop by my dorm room later?" I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but hoped he didn't notice.

"I would if I had any idea where your dorm room was." I responded shyly.

"196. Room number 196." Keefe said with a wink. Then he turned to leave, shouting "We'll bump into each other sooner or later- just hopefully not so literally this time!" Over his shoulder.

I smiled and stood their for a few seconds before whispering "Yeah. I'll see you 'round", even though Keefe was long gone by then.

 **Okay, that's all for today folks! I hope you enjoyed this story, and if you did please review telling me hat you think I did good on, and what you think I could improve on! I'll see you next time!**


	5. In-N-Out

**Hello lovelies! Something you should know before you read this: There will be a lot of texting in this chapter, and Sophie's texts will be in italics, while Keefe's texts are in bold. Anyway, I'm not going to rant on too much because I don't want to bore you, so I'm going to respond to the reviews, and then get on with the story!**

I knocked on Dex and Fitz dorm room. Biana opened the door, took one look at me and said "You were with Keefe, weren't you?"

I gaped at her. How could she possibly know that? "N-no I wasn't!" I didn't know why I was trying to hide it. She obviously knew.

"Oh Honey." Biana cooed. "You're in denial." I sighed, defeated.

"How could you tell?" I asked, hoping it wasn't that obvious.

"Sophie, I'm the school's official match maker, and I've learned to read body language very well." I sighed in relief. "I'm also a human being with eyes." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, it can't possibly be that obvious, can it?" Biana smirked.

"Are you guys done with your girl talk?" Dex asked. "Me and Wonderboy are waiting."

"Yeah, well you and _wonderboy_ can wait a little longer." Biana shouted back. Dex had dubbed Fitz 'Wonderboy' back when we were kids because he thought Fitz was a snobby, know-it-all, goody-two-shoes girl magnet. Over time, they had grown to be good friends, but the nickname stuck.

"Would you guys stop calling me Wonderboy?" Fitz asked. He had always hated that nickname.

"We will when you stop being one!" Biana shouted back.

"Ohhhh! Burn!" Dex teased. Fitz groaned.

"You guys are impossible!" I declared as I walked into the room. "Now, gimme food. I'm starving!" I said as I flopped down onto Fitz's bed.

"Or, as people used to say, Hello!" Dex said. I looked up and glared at him.

"Hey! I haven't eaten at all today, and it's already 2 o'clock! Food!" I complained. If they were going to drag me away from my warm bed, (Well, okay, floor.) and demand that I help them study, the least they could do is feed me.

"Okay little Miss. Queen-Of-The-Universe. Have some potato chips." Fitz Said, tossing me a bag of Barbecue potato chips.

"That's more like it!" I said, tearing into the bag. "And next, I would like a gallon of chocolate. Oh! And a bunch of Mallowmelt!" Mallowmelt was a family recipe from the Vackers, but they had shared it with me, because sometimes I would go over to their house, just to ask for Mallowmelt. And plus, I was practically part of the family!

"Yeah, sure. I'll do that for 50 bucks." Dex said, holding out his hand. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Anyway, I was thinking" Biana began.

"If your 'thinking' has anything to do with dresses, glitter, or makeovers, then I'm out." Fitz interrupted Biana playfully slapped him.

"For your information, what I was thinking had nothing to do with any of those!" Biana cried, as if she was heavily offended by the fact that Fitz immediately assumed that what she had planned had to do with girly things (Which it did most of the time) "I was actually thinking that because it's saturday, and we've all been super busy the past week, that we should spend some time together at a restaurant or something! Maybe we could go to Veloce Beatitudine or something!" I groaned slightly at her suggestion. I worked at Veloce Beatitudine, so I spent 2 hours there 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) And to be honest, I was getting a little sick of the place. It was really nice, with a cozy feeling, but after a while It got old.

Dex seemed to notice my frustration, because he said "Or we could go to In-N-Out" He suggested, with a wink in my direction. I mouthed the words 'Thank you' to him. He smiled, as if to say 'No problem.'

"Yeah, let's go there instead!" I said enthusiastically. In-N-Out burger was hands down my favorite restaurant of all time.

"I agree with Sophie and Dex on this one." Fitz chimed in. Biana sighed in defeat.

"Fine fine. Let's get going. I'll drive!" Biana said, grabbing a light pink sweater from on the coat rack and throwing it on. I grabbed my light grey one. It was a bit big for me, but it was warm, and people didn't really notice you when you were wearing plain colors like grey and black..

And yes, me and Biana did have spare coats at Dex and Fitz's dorm room, because we spent about half our free time there. We actually had spare lot's of things in random places throughout their room, and they had some of their things scattered in ours. We Just spent so much time together, and we're to lazy to walk back to our room every time we need something.

. . . . . .

We made it to In-N-Out pretty quick, given that it's just down the block from where our college is. I just got a cheeseburger, fries, and some Sprite. Once we had gotten our food, we found a table near the back and sat down to eat.

"So, what did you and Keefe talk about on the way to the dorm." I nearly choked on my Sprite. I had totally forgotten that she knew about that.

"You talked to Keefe? Is that what took you so long?" Dex whisper shouted. I blushed as I pulled out an itchy eyelash.

"It wasn't anything like your thinking! I didn't go looking for him or anything that! We just sorta... crashed into each other." _A little too literally._ I added in my mind. I really didn't need them to figure out how Keefe had caught me in his arms. Dex and Fitz would give me the whole 'You Can't be with him Because he's a Famous, Rich Playboy' talk again, and Biana would take it as a sign of true love, and would say that he had already started to 'change his ways, and we could go get married now.

"So how did it happen?" Biana asked excitedly. "Did he come to you? Oh, I bet he walked you to Fitz and Dex's room!" Biana ranted, and I could tell from the tone of voice she was using that she was going to go off on one of those 'Fangirling Moments' where she always just dissolved to speaking in squeels. Occasionally she would shout things like 'Why are they not married?!" and 'They're so cute together! SO CUTE!' And 'OTP! OTP!" I didn't know what that last one ment, and I really didn't want to find out.

"It was nothing like that!" I squeaked, embarrassed. I pulled my hair around my face as I said. "Neither of us came to find one another. He was in the library, i bumped into him and we talked. That's it. There is nothing more that happened." I said, and then took a bite of my cheese burger so I would stop talking. I already let it slip to Keefe that Biana wanted us to get married, I didn't need to tell them about how I fell into his arms.

"Oh, come on! There's got to be more to it than that! You need to tell us everything!" Biana squealed.

"For the record, some of us don't want to know... Everything" Fitz said awkwardly. It was clear that he had no intention of having girl talk in an In-N-Out burger with me and Biana.

"Did you guys flirt? Did he invite you over? Did he give you a kiss?!" Biana asked, completely ignoring Fitz. I choked on my burger. Dex grimaced. Fitz did an exaggerated eye roll.

"That, for instance, falls in the category of things we do NOT want to know." Dex said. "And I think Sophie is literally dying over there." He noted. I was still coughing from choking on my burger.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" I managed to choke out. 'And for your information, There was no kiss. At all. There wasn't even the slightest notion of a kiss!" Biana sighed, and her face fell slightly. "Did you really think I'd kiss him? I barely even know him."

"Well, I didn't mean lips-on-lips passionate french Kiss." Biana said. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping to block out the image that had just entered my head. "I ment like... A kiss on the cheek. Or a kiss on the hand! Or something like that." I buried my head in my hands.

"Okay, we are done with this conversation." I grumbled. Biana started to say something else, but I cut her off "No! I mean there will be no mention of Keefe at all in the duration of this conversation!"

Biana sighed dramatically, but she knew that I wouldn't budge, so she didn't push any farther. "I, for one, agree with Sophie. There is no reason to include us boys in your girl talk." Dex said. Fitz nodded his head in agreement.

"So what would you guys like to talk about? Sports? Because me and Sophie aren't really caught up on that stuff." Although Biana was super competitive, and she loved Basequest (A family game), she wasn't really the sports-y type. She stuck to girly stuff. As for me, I can't walk down stairs without falling, I'm so clumsy, and that is definitely not a good quality when you play sports, so I usually stayed away from that stuff. Although I do love a good game of Basequest.

As Biana Fitz and Dex drifted off in a debate about the importance of sports, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, to see that I had gotten a text from Keefe. I smiled as I opened it.

 **I'm boooooed** The text read. A second later I got another one from him that said **Entertain me? Please?** I sighed, looking up to see if anyone would notice if I was texting. Somehow, Biana Fitz and Dex had gotten into a heated debate about unicorns (This kind of thing happens a lot around us. Don't ask)

" _And how am I supposed to entertain you?"_ I typed up. His reply came in less than ten seconds.

 **I dunno. You could come over? You do remember that you promised that you would come over, right? So why not do it now?** I felt myself smile, though I wasn't quite sure why.

 _Actually, I can't come over right now_ I informed him. _I'm out with friends. I'll come over when I get back though. Will that satisfy you?_

 **Fiiiiiiine. Where are you anyway?**

 _In-N-Out._

 **When will you be back?**

 _Do you realize that you have only sent me 5 texts, and yet, you still have asked me 7 questions, right?_

 **That has nothing to do with the question I asked.**

 _Well, no, but I thought you should to know._

 **Answer my question.** I chuckle at his stubbornness.

 _No more than half an hour. I'm almost done with my burger, and the only thing keeping me here is Biana, Fitz and Dex's stupid argument about unicorns (Don't ask. You really don't want to know)_

 **What kind of conversations do you have with your friends?**

 _The weird kinds. Anyway, don't you have something more productive to do with your time than texting me?_

 **Nope. Besides, talking to you is fun.**

 _But we're not talking. We're texting._ I reminded him.

 **Whatever, Foster. You're enjoying this to. I can totally tell, so don't even try to deny it**. A smile crept onto my face as I realised that I was actually enjoying this. Enjoying it more than I thought I would.

 _Guilty as charged._ I admitted to him. _So I can stop by your dorm once I get back?_ I asked again, not wanting to show up uninvited.

 **Aww, does the little Foster miss me?** I rolled my eyes, but giggled slightly

 _Well, I could always just not show up..._

 **Yeah, yeah. You can come. Feel free to drop by anytime. And if I ever complain, you can just show me this text to prove that you have permission.** I smirked as I thought of an idea.

 _So, hypothetically, If I were to show up randomly at your dorm at 2 A.M., you would have to let me in?_

 **I've given you too much power, haven't I?**

 _Yup. I will raid your fridge at 2 A.M. every night._

 **Hey! I never said you get access to my fridge! Only my dorm!**

 _Fine._

 **But really, If we ever bump into each other again (Hopefully not so literally this time. Although, I did find the look of terror on your face a tiny bit amusing right before I caught you). Feel free to follow me to my dorm. It gets lonely.** I blushed as I read over his text.

 _Don't you have a roommate?_

 **No. My parents pretty much bribed the school to give me a 'luxury dorm room' And no one else could afford a room like that, so it's just me.**

 _Well, I'll be sure to keep you company, as long as you promise not to pull any pranks on me while I'm over there._

 **But Foster! Like, half my plans included pranks!**

"Sophie? Earth to Sophie!" I looked up from my phone, eyes wide. I had totally forgotten where I was, and the fact that I had a group of friends with me.

"Uh, yeah?" I said, more than a little flustered. I pulled a curtain of hair around my face, trying to hide my bush.

"Are you... Texting someone?" Dex asked.

"Are you texting Keefe?" Biana asked excitedly.

"Uhh... no! Of course not!" I bluffed, hoping that they wouldn't see the lie.

"Sophie." Biana said. "You really are a great person. But you are one terrible liar." Biana said, as she reached over and grabbed my phone. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. I buried my head in my hands, preparing for ultimate humiliation as she started to read my texts.


	6. Dirty Laundry

**Hey guys! I'm back! Anyway, WHO'S EXCITED FOR NIGHTFALL! I'M EXCITED FOR NIGHTFALL! WOOOHOOOO! IT'S GONNA BE 800 PAGES! IT'S ONLY 47 DAYS AWAY! (AS you can see, I'm slowly spiraling into insanity.)**

 **Also, I posted these all in the same day, because I just copied and pasted stuff that I had already written on Wattpad. However, now that I actually have to write, the updates are going to take I while. I am slow, and I really am sorry for that. But anyway, you didn't come here just to listen to me ramble on and on, so onto the story!**

I was wondering exactly what events in my life led up to that moment. How exactly did I end up in an In-N-Out burger restaurant, my head in my hands, with my best friend reading over my very personal and private texts? The very texts I sent to the person she want's me to get married to! Not to mention the looks that Dex and Fitz were giving me. The looks that seemed to say 'I'm disappointed that you were texting him while we were talking, but I'm not overly surprised."

Suddenly, Biana raised an eyebrow "'But really, If we ever bump into each other again (Hopefully not so literally this time. Although, I did find the look of terror on your face a tiny bit amusing right before I caught you). Feel free to follow me to my dorm. It gets lonely.'" Biana read aloud, sounding giddy. I buried my head deeper into my hands. "Sophie! First off all, this so cute! You two are totally meant to be together! He just gave you a free pass into his life, whenever you want! That is just adorable!" I opened my mouth to reply, but bina cut me off before I could. "Second" She continued, sounding even more giddy than she was just a second ago. "He caught you when you fell? Why didn't you tell me? Oh my gosh, That is so romantic! He is totally your soulmate!"

"Biana." I gumbled. "This is NOT a movie! Me and Keefe are NOT a cliche movie couple!" Biana grinned.

"But you could be."

"But we aren't."

"But you could be!"

"But we aren't!"

"But-"

"Okay, that's enough of the argueing like 3-year-olds!" Dex interrupted. Biana pouted, but didn't argue any more. Suddenly, my phone buzzed again. Biana grinned as she looked down to see what it was.

"Guess who?" She said, in a sing-song voice.

I perked up. "What did he say?" I asked, not sure why I was so giddy.

Biana raised an eyebrow. "You sound excited." She noted. I glared at her. "Okay, fine. He said: 'Sophie'" She slipped into a deep voice, trying (And failing) to mimic Keefe. "'You are the love of my life. From the moment I met you I knew that you were my one-and-only tru-'" I threw a fry at her. "Fineeeee. He really is just asking if you're still here. A second later, my phone dinged yet again "And now he's asking if you're dead. With one of those skull emojis." A smile tugged at my lips. His pettiness was amusing.

I held out my hand. "Here. Gimmie." Biana reluctantly handed my phone over. I looked down. Keefe had, in fact sent me a text asking if I was dead.

 _No._ I typed. _My friends caught me. If I don't contact you within an hour, they've throttled me._ I presses sent and then I put the phone away.

"Look" I said to my friends "He texted me, and I didn't want to ignore him. But I shouldn't've texted him while we were talking. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry." Fitz said. "Just make sure to tell us the next time you guys decide to start flirting." I blushed madly.

"We were NOT flirting!" Biana rolled her eyes. "We weren't!"

"Who are you trying to convince? Because right now, you seem to be telling yourself more than us." I opened my mouth a few times, but I just couldn't come up with a response for that.

 **o0o0o**

We were on the way back, and Fitz and Dex were giving me the "List of Reasons you Can't Date Keefe™'-version 2.0.

"And that." Dex concluded after what felt like years, but in reality was only a few minutes. "Is the list of reasons why you shouldn't date Keefe.

"Finally! You guys were going on forever! I was beginning to worry that you would never stop!" Biana complained. For once, I agreed with her. "And now, what do you want to do with the rest of the evening? We could go out to the movies or..." She trailed off as she noticed the look on my face. "What?"

"I told Keefe I would meet him when I got back. You read the texts." Biana looked like she couldn't figure out if she was disappointed that I was not going to be able to spend much more time with them, or giddy that I was spending time with Keefe.

"Well, at least flirt with him a bit? Please? For Me?" She batted her eyelashes. I sighed.

"If I agree to... Tell him that he's handsome, will you stop bothering me about this?" I asked. Biana nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, fine. I, Sophie Foster, Pledge to tell Keefe Sencen that he is handsome, on the condition that Biana Vacker will stop teasing me about Keefe."Biana looked satisfied.

"Okay, great. You guys made you weird girl pledge. Now can we please refrain from anymore boy talk while Me and Fitz are here? I think I speak for the both of us when I say that we don't really need to know about the boys that you do or don't like." Dex sounded exasperated Fitz nodded his head.

"For once, I agree with techno-nerd." Fitz said. Everyone gave him a blank stare. "What? So he can call me wonderboy, and I can't call him Techno-nerd? That's just unfair." He said as we pulled into the parking lot of our school.

"Life's not fair. Anyone who says differently is selling you something." I replied.

"Are you quoting 'The Princess Bride'?" Biana asked. "You've read the Princess Bride?" I blushed. I didn't usually read romance novels, but it had been a christmas gift from my adopted mother.

"Maybe." I responded as I stepped out of the car. I didn't want Biana to start fangirling there. And I really didn't want Biana to figure out that I had actually enjoyed the book, and the romance.

"Well, I hate to interrupt." Dex said, in a tome that implied that he was actually glad to stop the conversation. "Doesn't Sophie have a date to get to?" I felt my cheeks flame.

"It's not a date!" I insisted. "And the next person to imply that it is will lose a finger."

Fitz whistled "Sophie's getting violent! We better watch out. She might burn down the school again." I crossed my arms.

"I did not burn down the school! I only burned down the chemistry classroom, and I don't intend to do that again." Dex grinned.

"But It was so awesome! The look of horror on Ms. Alina's face was totally worth it." I rolled my eyes.

"You just liked that we got a week off of school." I countered. Dex shrugged.

"That may of helped too." He admitted.

"Though, I'm pretty sure that won the prize for best Sophie incident of the year. Although, that time you broke your locker was pretty cool too." (A tip for everyone- If you can't get your locker open, do not hit it so hard that the door falls off.) "And don't forget that time when you had an allergic reaction to that soda, and you started throwing up all over the cafeteria!" Fitz teased.

"You forgot the time when she-"

"Okay, we are so finished with the whole 'Let's bring up all of Sophie's traumatic memories that she is trying to repress.' Conversation!" Biana pouted.

"Fine. We could talk about Keefe instead..."

"Nope! We made a deal, remember? If I tell Keefe he's handsome, you stop bringing him up in a romantic way." Biana smirked.

"But that doesn't count until you tell him!" I buried my face in my hands.

"You're impossible!" I groaned. "So Fine. I'll go up there and tell him right now." Biana gave me this weird smile, and I couldn't tell what it meant. Which annoyed me. A lot.

I walked off, into the building, and then started heading towards where I thought Keefe's dorm room was. What was his dorm's number again? Right, 196. I carefully scanned the numbers on the wall.

At the end of the hallway was the 100th room, and I realised that his room would be on the second floor. Great.

I walked back to the elevator, and pressed the button for floor 2. The music seemed to be 'Row Row Row your Boat'. My school always had the worst music.

Once the elevator reach the second floor I stepped of, and for the second time that day, I ran into something.

For the second time that day, I ran into Keefe Sencen.

For the second time that day, Keefe caught me in his arms.

"I thought we were going to try to avoid running into each other like this. Or maybe it's just fate that everytime you fall, I'll be there to catch you." Keefe sounded amused. I wished I could play it off like he was, but my heart rate seemed to be going really fast, and forget about butterflies, a whole zoo had been let loose in my stomach.

"You sound like Biana." Was all I could think of saying. Keefe's eyebrows shot up.

"That's the girl who wants us to get married, right?" I nodded, blushing. The subject of Biana had reminded me that I had to tell him that he was handsome... I really was starting to wish I hadn't made that deal.

"She's always talking about... Nevermind. You don't want to know" Keefe grinned.

"Actually, I think I do want to know." He said. "You know. I might meet your friends one day, and I want to know what they talk about. You know, other than our future wedding." He chuckled, and only then did I realise that I was still in his arms.

"Um... Yeah... Just trust me on this." I said, pulling myself back to my feet. "Why are you here anyway? I thought we were going to meet in your dorm." I was desperately searching for a way to change the subject.

"Well, I got impatient, so I waited by the elevator instead."

"How did you know I would take the elevator when I could've used the stairs?" Keefe Raised an eyebrow.

"Who would walk all the way up the stairs when there is a perfectly good elevator they could use?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Some person who wanted to be healthy, I guess." Keefe smirked.

"Well it would appear that you are not one of those people." Keefe noted as we started walking to his dorm room. "Because, after all, you did use the elevator."

I sighed, but I was sure he could see the smile that was pulling at my lips. "Guilty as charged." I admitted. "Anyway, what do you want to do?" I asked.

"I don't know. Talk? I really don't know that much about you-other than the fact that you have a friend who wants us to get married, and are cute and smart." It was friendly teasing. It had to be. That's the only thing that makes sense, because there is no way that someone as cool (And admittedly, handsome) as Keefe would ever think I was cute.

"What is there too know? I'm just me." Keefe didn't look convinced as we finally arrived at the door to his dorm room, and he took out his keys.

"So that's it? No hobbies or anything? Whenever I'm not around, you just stare at the wall?" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, yeah I have hobbies, but they're nothing interesting. I like hanging out with friends and stuff."

Keefe opened the door to his room, and I finally understood what he meant when he said his parents had gotten him a luxury room. It was about two times the size of a normal dorm, with what looked like a walk in closet. It was messy, but it was nothing compared to the time that I had left school for a week because I was sick, and I returned to see my room had gone through a hurricane. Dirty clothes were scattered along the floor, I was finding Lipgloss in places I never thought I would, The shower was broken, stuff like that. (Biana is a great friend, but she is not very organised.) His bed was in the right corner, facing his dresser which had a large flatscreen television on it. A few feet to the right of his gray bed, he had a couch with a round glass coffee table with about 3 dirty mugs on had a desk in the left side of the room, but it was stacked so high with papers, I was sure he never actually used it. The walls were painted a soft ice blue that matched his eyes, and he had a cream colored carpet.

"Sorry about the mess." Keefe said, running a hand through his hair, somehow making it look better, and as I looked over at him, I thought I saw him blush slightly. "I should've cleaned up a bit but... I'm lazy."

"Oh, It's fine. I'm used to mess. I live with Biana. You don't ever know what a girl is really like until you've shared a room with her." Keefe laughed.

"Is that so?" He asked. I nodded, smiling. "I'll keep that in mind. Though, I have no idea what I'll ever do with that information."

"You never know. Maybe one day... Okay, yeah, that information is pretty useless to you."

Keefe chuckled, as he walked over and flopped down dramatically onto the couch. "Come" He said, patting the seat next to him. "Join me in the laziness club." I laughed as I sat down next to him.

"You have a whole club dedicated to laziness?" I asked.

"Well, It's not much of a club. I'm the only person. I would go out and recruit more people but I'm too lazy."

"I'm here, remember?" Keefe smiled, and threw an arm around my shoulders.

"Yep. And now I have kidnapped you and will never let you leave." My smile turned into a full on grin.

"Wanna bet?" I asked playfully. He smirked.

"Try me. You couldn't escape if you tried." I looked up at him. The look in his eyes was almost a dare.

"Okay. Just remember, you asked for it," I jumped up, out of his arm, and started running towards the door.

"Oh, it is so on." I could hear him get up, and his footsteps started chasing after me. I could hear them approaching, and just as I reached to door, I looked back to see Keefe reach out and grab my arm. I shrieked, and tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but he was strong.

"Hey, No fair!" I complained.

"All's fair in love and war, Foster." I looked around for a way to escape his grasp, and acting on an impulse, I reached down, grabbed a dirty shirt that he had left on the floor, and threw it in his face. He was surprised, and in his momentary shock, he loosened his grip on my arm, giving me the opportunity to rip myself free, and run to the other side of his room. "Hey!" Keefe cried out in surprise.

"All's fair in love and war." I mimicked him. He reached up and pulled the shirt off his face, and I could see his smirk. Suddenly, he threw it back at me. It landed on my face.

"Ahh!" I screamed, startled. I heard Keefe laugh from the other side of the room, and another piece of laundry hit me. "Fine! You wanna play that way?" I ripped the clothes of of my face, and then reached down, taking a handful of dirty shirts and pants, and hurled them all at him. He put his hands up to block his face, bt he still ended up getting covered.

"Oh! Is Foster getting feisty? Because I think that this is now a war." I felt his jeans hitting my stomach, and a few shirts hit my face.

"You don't know what you've done. You have no idea what I'm capable of!" I threw a slightly damp hand towel at him.

That went on for a while, us throwing clothes and insults back and forth, until Keefe suddenly ran over to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and lifted me up. "Keefe!" I cried, dropping his shirt in surprise. "What are you-" Keefe gently threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Hey! Put me down!" I demanded.

"Hmmm... Not when you ask so rudely. What's the magic word?" He teased. I could almost hear his smirk.

"Abracadabra" I said sarcastically.

"No, that's not it. The other magic word."

"Hocus pocus."

"Come on, you have to try harder than that! You can do it! Just believe in yourself!"

"Fine. Can you please let me down?" I asked.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Suddenly, I was flying over his shoulder. I let out a mangled yelp, and started flailing wildly, right before I landed on something soft. I looked down and realized he had flipped me onto his bed. Keefe dissolved into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"That was NOT funny!" I shouted, even though I was laughing when I said it.

"That was the very definition of funny, Foster. You should've seen your face!" I glared at him, but that only caused Keefe to crack up more. "You're adorable when you're angry."

I rolled my eyes. "At least help me up!" I said. He grinned, and reached out his hand. I grabbed it and pulled down with all the strength I had, causing Keefe to tumble onto the bed, landing next to me. He looked at me, and then we both burst out laughing until our sides hurt and our throats were rubbed raw.

"You know, or the founder of a club about being lazy, you certainly don't see that lazy." I pointed out "If fact, you seem to have tons of energy."

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to make a new, better club!" Keefe declared.

"Oh? And what club will that be?" I inquired.

Keefe thought for a moment, before his face lightened and he said "A Sophie oster Fan club! No, don't you scoff and roll your eyes, it'll be great! I can be the president because I'm your number one fan!" He said with a wink. I shook my head in exasperation.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

"As my first order of business, I would like to know more about you. First thing in our Q&A is-"

"Wait Keefe-"

"What is your favourite movie?" He continued on, completely ignoring me.I rolled my eyes.

"Hmm... I've always preferred reading." I decided.

"Okay, fine. What's your favorite book?"

"Who can pick just one?" Keefe rolled his eyes.

"Now you're just being stubborn." He complained. I smirked at him.

"Guilty as charged." I admitted. Keefe stuck his tongue out at me, and I did the same. He reached over and ruffled my hair.

"You're cute when you're being stubborn." I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks, and I reached over to pull out an itchy eyelash. How was I supposed to respond to that?

"You're handsome." i blurted, remembering the deal I had made with Biana. Keefe's eyebrows shot up, and he looked beyond confused.

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way but... Who are you and what have you done to Sophie Foster?" I felt my cheeks flush deeper as I rushed to explain.

"Biana and I made a deal that if I told you you were handsome, that she would stop bothering me about us being 'soulmates' and I don't know why I said it right then, it just sorta slipped out. I didn't really mean it Not that you're not handsome! I just didn't mean to say it th-" Keefe placed a hand over my mouth, efficiently cutting off my ramblings.

"Relax, Foster. I get it. You just had my confused for a second." I sighed in relief, and was saved from having to answer him by my phone buzzing. I looked down. It was a text from my boss.

 **Soph, I know it's your day off, but Emily just called in sick, and I can't get anyone to take her place. I will pay you double for the day if you can come in.**

I groaned. "Keefe" I began.

"Let me guess." He said. "There is somewhere you need to be, and you have to ditch me." He said, but I could tell from his tone that he wasn't really bothered. I smiled sadly.

"I got called into work. I'm sorry." I said.

"It's fine. Where do you work anyway?" Keefe asked, as we both sat up from his bed.

"The restraint down the street called Veloce Beatitudine" I told him. He crinkled his nose.

"Is that French or something?" He asked.

"It's Italian for 'fast bliss'" I informed him, as I walked towards his door. "I'll see you tomorow?" I asked, hoping he didn't notice how hopeful I sounded.

"Sure, but at least let me walk to your car." Keefe said. I smiled gratefully. As he held the door open for me.

"Who knew you were such a gentleman?" I asked, giggling as he bowed when I passed him.

"I am only a gentleman for magnificent woman such as yourself." He said as he he held put his arm, which I took. We walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company until we finally arrived at my car.

"I'll see you later, Foster." He said as I was getting into the car.

"Yeah. you too." I said, wishing that I could spend some more time with him, laughing until our sides hurt. But then he closed my door, and I could see him walk back towards our school in the car's mirror.


	7. Work

**Okay, this chapter is up. Well, I don't really have anything to say here, so on to the story!**

"You are a lifesaver." My boss, Jason, said as I walked into Veloce Beauditine. It wasn't the fanciest restaurant I'd ever been too, but it was a sit down, and not fast food. I was a waiter, mostly because I couldn't cook for the life of me. "I owe you one." Jason added, pulling me in for a hug. Jason was in his late twenties, with dark skin and messy curly black hair that reached just past his ears. He had a slight Italian accent from the vacation he spent in Italy this summer. He had a wife named Julie, and a three year old daughter named Harmony. Me and Jason had formed a friendship over the two years I had worked here. I sometimes babysat Minnie (My nickname for Harmony). He had turned into a close friend for me, and he was always there when I needed advice. Even my friends had met him, through they weren't as close as we were.

"Really, I owe you." Jason added with a grateful smile. I grinned as he held out the normal uniform. It was nothing special; just a beige dress with a frilly white apron.

"I know. You're just lucky that I could actually cancel my plans. And you do owe me, and I will find a good way for you to pay that debt." I said as I walked into the 'employee's only' room. I slipped into the bathroom, quickly changing my normal clothes for one of the uniforms. As I finished changing, i went out back to the room and signed in, watching the other employes passing by, getting supplies or going to the bathroom or something. It was always crowded here, and a part of me was glad. No one seemed to notice me, or care about me. In a way, that was comforting. At my school, I stood out as the nerdy outcast girl. Here, I was just another waiter doing her job.

I mean, sure, we talked. Some of us were even friends. But none of us really stood out. We were all equals.

Once I finished changing, I went to the kitchen, where I got assigned tables. Today I had B4, B8, C1, and D7.

The first half an hour flew by pretty fast. I had one family with three kids, a couple a little older than me out on a date, a lone man who was on his laptop, and a mom and her daughter out for 'Mommy-Daughter night. Nothing interesting happened.

That is, nothing interesting happened until the lone man left, and someone else took his spot. The interesting thing, what that the person taking his place wasn't a stranger. The person was Keefe Sencen.

When I went out to see if anyone had come, the root beer float I was holding slipped out of my hand in shock. Immediately every head in the restaurant turned to look at me, and I felt my cheeks start burning with embarrassment. Keefe, did not help the situation in any way by asking "You okay there Foster?"

I quickly grabbed a hand towel from the counter next to me, and ignoring the stares I was getting, and Keefe. I started cleaning up the mess. I was sure that my cheeks were the color of a tomato.

"Sophie, you need any help?" Eshaa, my co-worker asked. I looked over. She was my best friend at work, though we didn't spend much time together out of work. I was grateful for her offer, but she couldn't really do anything.

"No thank you." She looked guilty. Eshaa was always trying to help, to make things better.

"I could make the root beer float again. No one's sitting at my tables, so I'm free to do it." I smiled. How did she always know how to make things better?

"You know, you are a lifesaver. Have I mentioned that?" She grinned at me, and started to walk away to make it.

I finished cleaning up the mess and went over to collect the root beer float that Eshaa had left on the counter, and delivered it to the little girl. She thanked me, and I was in the middle of trying to figure out how to avoid Keefe, when he called out

"Foster! I'm ready!" I was debating if it would be socially acceptable to dump whatever food he wanted over your head as I walked over to him.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed at him. Keefe gave me that handsome smirk of his, and I found that I couldn't feel mad. But I sure could pretend that I was.

"What? Aren't you happy to see the most handsome and cool guy you know?"Keefe winked dramatically, and I felt the blush heat up my cheeks.

"Would you shut up? Half the restaurant is staring at us! And I've had enough attention when you surprised me enough to make me drop the root beer float." Keefe chuckled, leaning back in his chair and cocking his head at me.

"You know, you're rocking the adorable while you're angry look. Really. It's cuter than anyone else would look when they're that angry." I felt my cheeks start to burn as I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore my racing heart.

"Keefe, if you keep this up I will dump food on you, I don't care that I'm at work." Keefe's smirk widened as he casually lifted his feet onto the table and wolf whistled.

"Foster's getting feisty! Everyone better watch out for her wrath of cuteness." He waggled his eyebrows, and I suppressed a laugh. I couldn't stop the smile that slipped onto my lips. Keefe looked triumphant.

"I got a smile! See Foster? I'm just too irresistible." This time a laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "And a laugh too? I'm on a roll!"

"Oh, just shut up and tell me what you want." I grumbled, still smiling. Keefe grinned.

"Hmm… Well, I want a dog, and I want world peace, and I want a bar of gold, and I want a unicorn and-"

"What you want from the menu, idiot." I interrupted, rolling my eyes and pulling my hair around my face to hide my smile.

"Ohh, that's a lot more specific. Okay then. I don't know." I scoffed.

"You know, you called me over here, saying you were ready. Ready means you know what you want to order." I reminded him.

"I was ready… To spend time with you." He said with a wink, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back. I rolled my eyes.

"Keefe, I have other people to attend to. Seriously. I'll… come raid your fridge or something tomorrow. I promise." I said, in an effort to get him to order. His lips twitched.

"That's supposed to convince me to order? Seriously?" He asked incredulously. "You really need to work on your people skills. You know that?" I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip. "Okay, fine." Keefe said, finally giving in. "Just pasta with sauce please." I smiled.

"No drink?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Surprise me." I gave him a little smile before I slipped away to get his food. I decided on Coke for his drink. You couldn't go wrong with a classic, right? Right before I was about to leave the kitchen to give him his food, Jason came up to me with a weird smile.

"Is that Keefe Sencen?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's him. Why?" I asked, turning to face him. He shrugged.

"Oh, no reason. You two seemed rather at ease with each other." He pointed out with a suggestive look.

"We go to the same college. I met him yesterday." I explained, not sure I liked what he was implying. There was no way that I was going to deal with Jason shipping us like Biana was. One friend who was overly obsessed with my love life was more than enough for me.

"And...?" He asked. I gave him a blank look. _What did that even mean?_

"And what?" I asked after a few seconds of silence. He gave me an exasperated look, and I responded with a shrug.

"And what do you think of him?" Jason asked, sounding just a little bit too eager for my likings.

"He's nice. Funny. Got an ego bigger than Earth itself, but not in a bad way. Pretty much the opposite of his parents." Jason smiled goofily. "And you better not go shipping us like Biana. I don't think I could deal with someone else who wants to decide who I marry." I added. Jason cocked his head at me, a smile twitching over his lips.

"Biana already ships you? Well, you're hopeless. Biana seems to have a sixth sense for these things. You two are going to get married." Jason sounded way to giddy. I groaned.

"I'm going to go give him his food now." I announced, leaving before Jason could start up again. Why had I decided it was a good idea to introduce him to Biana? He was the type to join her in her shipping, and I did not find it amusing. Okay, maybe it was a little funny to see a man his age act like a fangirl, but that was not the point!

"Finally! How long does it take to prepare pasta?" Keefe exclaimed dramatically when I got to his table.

"I was gone for five minutes." I deadpanned. He gave me that infuriating trademark smirk of his.

"And they were the worst five minutes of my life." Keefe remarked as he took a sip of the drink. "Hmm… Coke, right? Good choice." I felt a light blush coat my cheeks.

"It was a lucky guess." I mumbled, tugging out a loose eyelash. He opened his mouth to respond, but a high pitched squeal cut him off.

"Sopie! Sopie!" I spun around just in time to see Harmony (Jason's daughter) hurtling towards me at a speed that was way too fast for a three-year-old.

"Oof!" I cried as she jumped into me in an attempt to give me a hug, which made me stumble backwards into Keefe's table, spilling his coke and tumbling down until Keefe managed to reach out an arm and catch me at the last minute.

"We really need to stop making a habit out of this." He noted, smirking as I rolled my eyes, and stood up, all the while desperately trying to calm down my blush.

Minnie saved me from having to answer by wrapping her arms around my legs in a hug. "Sopie!" She she used to have trouble pronouncing my name, so she just said 'Sopie', and she hasn't stopped. It's kind of cute.

"Hey Harmony!" I said, picking her up and spinning her around, making her giggle herself silly.

Harmony was the perfect mix of her parents, with Jason's big, chocolate brown eyes, and darker skin, and Julie's small figure and light brown hair that fell just past her shoulders in soft waves. She was way prettier than any three year old had the right to look. "What are you doing here, sweetheart?" I cooed.

"Mommy said you were gonna be here! I miss you!" She said when I put her down. I smiled at her. She had taken a quick liking to me when I had become her babysitter. And I loved her like a sister. An adorable sister.

"Harmony? Harmony Jones, don't go running off like that!" Juile said, walking over to us. "You could get hurt."

Julie was more than a little overprotective over Harmony, but I knew that she was only like that because she didn't want to lose her like she did her first child when she had a miscarriage. She reminded my of my adoptive mother Edilean when they first got me. After losing her first daughter she must've been scared she would lost me too.

Harmony looked up at Julie, giving her the cutest puppy dog eyes i had ever seen. "I'm sorry mommy. But I haven't seen Sopie in…" She trailed off, counting on her fingers. "624 days!" Me and Julie shared a look.

"I don't think that's quite right." Julie said with a smile. "You saw her just last month, remember?" Harmony scrunched up her face in concentration.

"I did?" Julie laughed and ruffled her hair gently, before pulling me into a hug.

"Sophie, it's good to see you. Harmony is right about one thing. It's been too long. You should come over for dinner or something." I smiled as I hugged back, and then pulled away.

"What's that?!" Harmony asked, point to the spot on the floor that Keefe's coke had spilled when I knocked into him.

I sighed. "Something I have to clean up. I'll be right back. Should I let Jason know you're here?" Julie nodded politely as Harmony went "Daddy!"

I turned to Keefe, who was watching the scene play out with a smile. "I'm sorry about the coke." I said sheepishly.

"Ahh, no problem. Besides, now I get a free refill, right?" He winked at me. As if on cue, I blushed.

"You would've gotten a free refill anyway. We do those here, you know." He shrugged.

"Actually, I didn't. This is my first time here, and I only came because one stellar waitress works here. And she just so happens to be waiting at my table, which is a bit of a bonus." He winked dramatically, and I fought the blush as hard as I could, but I was still sure that I was the color of a fire truck.

"Oh, shut up, would you?" I mumbled, trying to slow my racing heart. _Why was my heart racing so fast?_ "And I'd better go fill the coke and get Jason. I'll be right back." I promised with a small smile before fleeing the scene.

I rushed over to the 'employees only' section, and then headed over to the soda machine, grabbing a new cup for Keefe and filling it with Coke. Then I went and poked my head into Jason's office, which was a small, cramped room with a desk and computer in the corner, and several bookshelves on the opposite wall, mostly full of cookbooks. "Hey, Jason?" He perked up from his computer, where he was probably monitoring income or sales or whatever. When he saw that it was me, he smiled.

"What is it Sophie?" Jason asked, his dark brown eyes curious as he ran a hand through his already unruly hair, messing it up even more.

"Harmony and Minnie are here." His face brightened at the mention of his daughter and wife. I knew that he didn't get to see them as often as he would like. He was the boss of the restaurant, and he worked very hard. Plus, Julie had a job as a tutor that started right before he got off of work, so they were struggling to spend time together as a family. Little visits like there were the highlights of his day. "Just letting you know, they're by table C1. The one Keefe was at." I explained.

"Can you tell them I'll be right over? I just have some business to wrap up here, and then I'll be there asap." I nodded and smiled politely before slipping out of the room and started back towards the table.

Everyone in my other tables had left, so I grabbed the money that they had left for the food, and threw it in the chash register, pocketing the tip, which was the normal amount.

When I got to the table where Minnie and Julie were waiting, Jason still hadn't arrived, but Keefe seemed to be keeping Minnie entertained by making silly faces at her. Whenever he made a new face, she would laugh and clap her hands. The scene made me smile. Keefe seemed to be good around kids.

"Jason's on his way. He should be here any second now. He just had a little bit of business to wrap up." I informed Julie, who was watching Keefe and her daughter with a smile.

"Thank you Sophie." I wasn't sure what to say after that (I had always been awkward in social situations) So I just went over to Keefe and handed him his Coke with a smile.

"Here you go." He grinned at me. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut of my Harmony.

"Daddy!" She squealed, running over to where Jason was coming towards us and leaping into his outstretched arms.

"Hey Sweetheart. I missed you." He said, kissing her forehead with a smile. And she gave him the most heart melting grin.

"I missed you too! Oh! I made you something. Mommy, where is it?!" Julie smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. When She handed it to Jason and He opened it, it was a drawing of their family, and it was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. Jason Grinned when he saw it

"It's beautiful, Carebear. You could be an artist when you grow up!" Minnie looked so proud of herself with the praise.

"Well, isn't this just about the cutest thing ever?" Keefe asked from behind me. I smiled and turned to face him. "It looks like not even Foster is immune to the cuteness of a little girl. Though, I suppose she really is sweet." I nodded.

"She is. I babysit her sometimes, and she loves to do all kinds of arts and crafts. Although, when we finish, I'm usually finding glitter in my hair for weeks on end." Keefe laughed at that, and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks when he did.  
"Hey, I made Foster blush! That should be turned into a game. Though, it'd probably be way to easy, given that you blush at anything. Still, I bet it would be fun." Right on cue, I felt my cheeks warm up more than they already were. "Yep. I would be the champion." I rolled my eyes, but laughed anyway.

"Sure you would. But don't you have more productive things to do with your time then just try to make me blush? You could be… I don't know. Helping to end world hunger or something." Keefe raised an eyebrow.

"Ending world hunger? And how would I go about doing that?"

"Okay, fine. You could be studying for your classes. You know, to ensure that you can get a job." I said with an eyeroll. Keefe pouted.

"But studying is boring! Making you blush is where it's at." He was impossible.

"Hey, Sophie, your shift is almost over. Go get changed!" Jason said. "I'll find someone to finish up with this table." Jason said, still holding Harmony in his arms, though she appeared to have fallen asleep.

"No need. I'm done anyway. Besides, No other waiter or waitress could ever compare to Foster." I pulled my hair around my face in an attempt to hide my blush, but I still saw the wink Keefe gave me, Jason's knowing smile, and the curious look from Julie.

"Okay, I'll just come to pick up the money once I'm done." I said, slipping away.

"I'll see you later Foster!" Keefe shouted at me, and I smiled to myself. Somehow, I was sure that it wouldn't be long until we bumped into each other again. Though, if I got any say in it, we would not be literally crashing into each other again. How many times had that happened so far? Two, three times?

I got to the 'employees only' section, quickly slipping out of the uniform and back into my normal clothes. I was one of the last waitresses, maybe because the restaurant closed in about 5 minutes.

When I was done, I went out to collect the bill and the dishes. I slipped the bill into my pocket, planning to deal with it later as I dropped of the plate and cup at this sink in the kitchen.

Right before I left, I stopped by the cash register to turn in the money from Keefe's food. When I opened the bill, a stack of cash fell into my hand. A stack that was way too big for pasta and a coke. I furrowed my brows. _Did he accidently pay to much?_ That was the only logical explanation I could think of.

My eyes scanned over the bill, and it looked normal. It should've only cost him a little more than $10. So why was there so much money?

I scanned it over a second time when my eyes caught onto something. _What the…_ My jaw nearly hit the floor as I read it a second and third time to make sure that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

But no, there, in the bold letters was the word: **Tip:**. And there, in Keefe's sloppy handwriting was the number 150. As in 150 dollars.

Did Keefe Sencen just give me a tip of 150 dollars? I stared at the money in my hands. There was no way that he was doing this just to flirt elaborately, right? And, if that was the case-Which it totally wasn't!-There was no way on Earth that it was working… Right?

 **Tell me what you guys think in the reviews! Bye you guys! ^^**


	8. Author's note

**Hello again! So, this isn't a chapter, it's just an A/N. I know, I'm sorry. I haven't updated in a while, I'm just having some serious writers block, and I've been busy. And that's why I'm thinking of putting this story on hiatus.**

 **I know, I know, I hate it when authors do that, but sometimes you have to. When I get writers block, it helps me to back away from trying to force myself to write, and just think. Then, when I get back to my story, I have a clear mind and a bunch of new Ideas! I mean, I've tried to push myself and force myself to write, but the story just comes out really boring and bad, so I'm trying this instead.**

 **The other reason I'm putting this story on hold for a little while is because I'm really stressed out recently. I've got lodes of schoolwork to do, a fan fiction to write, chores at home, and therapy sessions to go to, and it's really taking a toll on me.**

 **Yeah, so I'm really sorry, but I have to just step back and take a breath for a while. It should last about a month, give or take. Like I said before, I just need to take some time for myself.**

 **I'm so sorry! But you guys are literally the best audience I could ever ask for. i know that's sappy, and to be honest, I'm terrible at the whole 'Saying thank you with so many emotions to the people who have supported you' thing, so I'm just gonna leave it at: Thank you so much. You're the best!**

 **Also: This is unrelated, BUT I GOT NIGHTFALL! Well, I got it two days ago, but same thing. I flew through it, and I really liked it. (I pulled an all-nighter the day it came out so I could finish it.)**

 **So now, I want to know if you guys would be okay with me putting spoilers for Nightfall in this story. I know that this story is realistic fiction, so I won't be giving away the adventures that they had or anything like that. It would more be me introducing characters that were first shown in Nightfall. I want to know if you guys would want me to do that, or if you want me to wait before putting them in so people would have more time to read Nightfall. I'm fine with whatever, so tell me in the reviews!**

 **So, I'm pretty sure that's it. Again, thank you for being such an amazing audience! I'll be back as soon as I can. Bye!**


	9. Phone Call

I'M BACK! DID YOU MISS ME? Oh, and I brought my inspiration with me. Take that writers block! I shall vanquish you will my majestic powers! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Okay, so I'm going back to being (Somewhat) sane again before you call a mental institute.

Anyway, it's good to be back! So, I updated the chapter 'Dirty Laundry Fight' a tiny bit. If you don't want to go back and read it all over again, all you need to know is that Sophie is aware of Keefe's drawing talent. You will see why this is important a few chapters from now.

Now, onto the story!

I was driving back to college from work, taking the long way. I wanted to think without being interrupted by Biana begging to let her give me a makeover. Or Dex asking me to check out a new gadget he made. Or Fitz wanting to talk to me. I really loved my friends, but I still needed time to spend alone.

Besides, I had things to think about. Namely, Keefe. And I couldn't tell Biana because she would insist that thinking about him was a symptom of being his soulmate. Which I wasn't. And Fitz and Dex... Well, I just wasn't ready for yet another 'Reasons why you shouldn't date Keefe talk'. They should trademark that, and give it to the other girls who might actually _want_ to date him, because I didn't. At all. Nothing anyone could say would convince me that I should.

I took a deep breath, and started to space out, letting muscle memory take over of the driving.

 _Why on Earth would Keefe give me a $150 tip? That was unheard of. He couldn't like me like that-_ I cut of the thought before it even finished. There was no way that someone like Keefe Sencen-Popular, famous even, funny-Could ever like someone like me-Nerdy, shy, and the opposite of popular. It just didn't happen. This wasn't a movie like Biana was always going on about. This was real life, where guys like him were in relationships with popular cheerleaders and girls pretty enough to be professional models. Girl like me ended up with... well, I wasn't sure who girls like me ended up with. By it definitely wasn't Keefe. Thinking that he could ever even think about having a crush on me, that was just getting my hopes up. Not that I hoped he liked me!

I sighed, and resisted the urge to bang my head on the steering wheel several times. This was all just so confusing!

Why had I started worrying about boys? I hadn't worried about a boy since... since I had had a stupid crush on Fitz, what, five years ago?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that I had arrived back at college until I had already unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my car door. My body was still in auto-pilot, and the only thing that drew me away from my thoughts was the cold air hitting my skin, causing goosebumps to form. It seemed to have gotten colder when I was driving home.

I pulled out my phone to glance at the time. 10:34. Great. Now Biana thinks that I am staying up past when I normally go to sleep (10:30) to hang out with Keefe. She was going to have a field day with that. So we're Dex and Fitz, come to think of it. And she was going to be disappointed when she figured out I went to work.

A small part of me wanted to go to Keefe, wanted to interrogate him until he told me why he had tipped my $150. The other small part of me wanted to avoid him at all costs. Wanted to not have to deal with the new crush, to not have to start worrying about boys.

And there was one part of me. One, very scary, very big part of me, that wanted to see him. Who wanted to be friends, wanted to hang out, to have a relationship. Who, maybe, possibly even _wanted_ to fall in love.

Maybe 'fall in love' is a strong term. But I wanted... something. Something different from what I have with Biana, and Dex and Fitz. I wanted to keep getting the butterflies in my chest when I was around him. I wanted to get that weird tingly feeling when our skin touched. And for a second, I admit, that maybe I wanted to be the cliche movie couple. (Please never tell Biana. She wouldn't ever stop holding that above my head.)

I slumped against my car, rolling the idea in my mind. And, being the nerd I am, I mad a pros and cons list.

Pros:

It would expand my admittedly small group of friends.

It might be fun.

I would score some major points with Biana.

Everyone (Read: Biana) would stop teasing me about being 'perpetually single' (Whatever that means.)

I might, maybe, possibly fall in love.

Cons;

Dex and Fitz probably wouldn't take it well.

My father would not take it well either.

It would affect my studies and/or my relationships with my other friends.

My mom and/or Biana would actually plan a wedding.

I could get my heart broken.

I scribbled that list down on an old napkin that was in the pocket of my jacket, with a pen that was running out of ink, so the words faded in and out.

When I was done, I stared at it for a second. Was I really doing this? Was I really standing out in the cold, scribbling out the pros and cons of dating a man I had just met yesterday? _Seriously?_

I mean, who does that? Certainly not me.

But still, I stood there for a good ten more minutes before I found it in me to move, folding the napkin and placing it in the safety of my pocket.

As I headed inside, I found myself crossing my fingers, praying that I wouldn't run into Keefe. It had already happened, what, three times? And once something has happened for the third time in two days, it has become a pattern! And right now, I couldn't face Keefe, when he was the very subject of my thoughts.

Immediately, my mind flew into a panic as I suddenly imagined all the possible ways that Keefe might run into me.

 _He could be in the lobby. He could be in the elevator. He could be waiting by the elevator._

Deep in my mind, in the little corner of common sense, I knew that Keefe most likely would be at his dorm, maybe up playing video games or something. However, my mind didn't seem to like the idea of common sense. It was too busy panicking to it's greatist ability.

But, as luck would have it, I made it to my dorm without being interrupted by anyone. I sighed as I opened the door. This was getting a little crazy. I mean, I was freaking out just walking back to my dorm! That didn't exactly strike me as a normal thing to do. Nothing had seemed normal from the moment Keefe and I had started hanging out, but I couldn't tell if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

 _I should talk to Biana._ I was a little afraid that she would tease me, but I knew if she saw how honestly freaked out I was, she'd put the jokes on hold. That was the thing about Biana. She would tease you about boys to no end, but if you really needed to talk, she was the best person to go to.

However, she was asleep by the time I walked into the dorm. The lights we're off, and through the dim light coming in through the open door, I could see Biana under her covers. She was out like a light.

I took out my phone, using the flashlight to find my way to my bed. I didn't want to trip over a chair or anything

I plopped down in my bed, pulled my stuffed blue elephant Ella closer to me, and closed my eyes, preparing for the night ahead. The problem was, I wasn't really tired. Plus, I couldn't sleep well when i had so much on my mind. It would just result in my tossing and turning, left alone with my thoughts.

I sat up in my bed, and pondered what to do. I couldn't do anything noisy, for fear that I would wake up Biana. I couldn't read, because I would have to turn the light on, which would probably wake up Biana.

That left... playing on my phone with the sound turned down.

Yay.

I never was that kind of girl with a bunch of games downloaded on my phone, and I didn't spend too much time on social media. Other than texting and phone calls, I didn't spend all that much time on my phone.

I unlocked my phone, and just stared at it for a moment. What was I supposed to do?

An idea struck me. If I couldn't talk to Biana about this, I was going to talk to the next best person. I would have to keep my voice down, but I wasn't too worried about waking up Biana. She slept like a log.

So I pulled up the phone and dialed in the familiar number. THe phone rang 3 times, and for a second I was worried that she wasn't awake, but on the fourth ring, someone picked up the phone. "Hello?" The familiar voice of my mom asked. I smiled, It had been a while since I had heard her voice, and I didn't realise how much i missed it. I really needed to call more often.

"Hi mom." I said softly into the phone.

"Sophie! I've missed you! You need to call more often." I could almost hear her smile through the phone, and I laughed softly.

"I know. It's just everything is so different here, and I've been so busy. But I've missed you guys too." I closed my eyes and sank further into my bed, enjoying the moment. It was true that ever since I had got here, I had been running around, adjusting to the new environment. It was rare that I got moments like this, where I could just relax.

"One second, I'm going to put you on speaker. Grady misses you too, y'know." I heard my phone make a noise, and then "Sophie? How are you holding up in college." Grady. I missed him too.

"I'm doing good. Busy, but I guess that's pretty normal. And I miss you guys. A lot."

"Do you miss us, or do you just miss us for all the free food?" I laughed at Grady. He always knew how to cheer me up. "And don't worry. We'll be around for Christmas, remember?" (A/N: Yes, dear readers. I am working on a CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! I'll try to get it out on Christmas, and I hope it's going to be a long chapter.)

"I know, but Christmas is so long away, and I miss you now!" I said, with a sigh. I heard a laugh on the other line.

"Sweetie," Edaline said "Christmas isn't that long away. It's actually pretty soon." I glanced at the date on my phone. It was closer than I thought.

"Huh, time really flies, I guess. I didn't even realise." I said with a small chuckle.

"Don't worry Kiddo. College does this to everyone. In the first few months of my freshman year, I had several emotional breakdowns, and in the middle of chemistry, I passed out from a caffeine overdose. You're handling it much better than me." I laughed. I had never heard that story before.

"So, Why did you call? Not that I'm complaining, but it seems a little late for a normal check-in. Is there anything you want to talk about?" My mouth went dry. Sure in theory, this was a great plan, talking to my mother to get advice on boys. But now that I had to talk... And plus, I couldn't exactly talk to Grady about this. Edaline was one thing. My dad... I didn't want him to know about this. He would flip.

"Oh, you know. Just the normal stuff. Schoolwork. And uh... you know, the whole college experience." I said, hoping that Edaline would get the message.

"Grady, I think Sophie needs to talk to me." Edaline said sweetly, and I sent a mental thanks that she understood.

"Then you can talk! Don't mind me!"

"It's a girl thing." Edaline explained with a small laugh. A second of silence passed before Grady asked

"Is this, like, a 'that time of the month' thing?" My jaw dropped. _He did not just ask me that._

There was a soft thunk from the phone and then: "Okay, okay! I get it. You're having... Lady problems. I'll leave. I know when I'm not wanted. There is no need to throw pillows at me!" I laughed slightly, and heard Edaline sigh.

"Oh, he is so sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I HEARD THAT!"

I grinned listening to my parents antics. I had forgotten how much I loved that. "Anyways, now that your father is gone, care to tell me who the lucky boy is?" My eyes widened.

"What? How did you..." I trailed off, and Edaline's melodic laugh came through the phone.

"If you have a daughter someday, You'll understand. For now, we can call it mother's intuition. But now, I just want to know everything about him! What does he look like? How did you meet? Are you dating yet? Does he-"

"Whoa, slow down! You're worse than Biana! One question at a time please."

And so, I found myself telling everything to my mother in detail-from the way he looked, to the way we met, to my not knowing if I liked him like that, or if I just liked him as a friend. And It felt good. It felt really good. To get everything off my chest to a listener like my mom, it sorta felt like coming home.

When I had finished pouring out the whole story, there was silence for about 10 seconds before Edaline said, "Wow, you've really fallen hard, haven't you?"

"What does that mean?" I asked, confused. More silence before,

"I mean, don't get me wrong. He sounds great. He sounds awesome even. But, you've only known him for, what, 2 days? And... I can tell you really like him. You're deep in denial, but that's normal for someone like you.

"Still, it feels a bit soon. And I know you can't control your feelings, and from how you describe him, I doubt he would ever hurt you. I mean, he likes you too. You don't just give a 150 dollar tip to someone you don't like... But Sophie? Be careful. I don't want you to get hurt." I let that roll around in my mind for a second. _Would Keefe ever hurt me? Not intentionally._

But then I just thought about how long I knew him for. And really, I didn't know much about him. Other than what he told me, and what my friends have told me, what did I know about him? That he was an artist. That he had a huge ego. That he was funny, and kind, and famous. What else? Not much.

I wanted to talk about it more. I wanted to rant for the rest of the night over the phone to my mom. But when I glanced at the clock, it was already 12 A.M., and I could tell that Edaline was getting tired from the tone in her voice. So all I said was, "Thank's mom. I should get some sleep now. I've got places to be tomorrow, you know."

"Okay Sophie. Remember to call soon! I want to know how everything goes with you. It gets lonely without you in the house. All we have now is Iggy!" I giggled, thinking about the tiny hampster. I had begged, and begged, and begged for a pet. Sure, we lived on a farm with animals, but they weren't pets. I wanted a cat or dog to be my own responsibility.

So, for my 16th birthday, my parents had craved, letting me get a hamster, and I love him. "Yeah, I miss that little guy. Tell him I said hi, would you?"

"Sure. Now get some sleep." I smiled before saying one last goodbye, and hanging up the phone.

I lied in the darkness for a while, just thinking. Thinking about everything. Thinking about how things had gotten so complicated. Thinking about what I was going to do for Christmas.

And most of all, I was thinking about a pair of ice blue eyes, and a head of disheveled blonde hair, paired with the smirk of a trouble maker. I was thinking about Keefe Sencen.

Because I must've been wrong.

There is no way I have a crush on him.

I don't have a crush on Keefe Sencen.

I don't have a crush on Keefe Sencen!

I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON KEEFE SENCEN!

...I am, in fact, lying.

Okay, honest opinions, was this chapter boring? I think it was. It is a big filler chapter, so It's not as great as some of my others, but still tell me if you enjoyed it!

And, as you may have noticed, I am planning to do a Christmas special! This will probally be two chapters away, and it might be two parts. If everything goes according to plan, I will post it on Christmas!

That's all for now! Bye my Lovelies!


	10. Christmas Shopping

**Okay, so after several cupcake emergency's, mental and emotional breakdowns, Dan and Phil/Sherlock marathons, all-nighters, and highly caffeinated cups of tea, I have *finally* finished this chapter, and I dare say I am proud of it.**

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" I proclaimed, turning on the light. Biana-Or at least, the heap in Biana's bed who I assumed was Biana-Rolled over, groaning. "Come on. Up." I said, attempting to tug the sheets off of her. She rolled over, clutching the sheets tighter, and mumbled something about wanting 'Just five more minutes.' However, I knew better than to agree to that. In the language of Biana, 'Just five more minutes' was more like 'five more hours.'

I sighed, and after a few failed attempts at waking her, I went to the kitchen, and filled a glass with water. Then I walked over to her bed, where it seemed she had fallen back peacefully asleep. She looked so calm… I almost felt guilty about this. _Almost._

So, before I could change my mind, I dumped the glass of water on her. That should do the trick.

And do the trick it did, as she bolted upright, half a scream escaping her lips before she seemed to realize that she wasn't in mortal danger.

"SOPHIE FOSTER!" She gasped, looking at the empty cup in my hand. "I AM GOING TO… I AM GOING TO…" She trailed off, apparently at a loss for words.

"You are going to…" I prodded. She glared, and if looks could kill, I would've been six feet under. Or maybe 12 feet under. "You know, it's a bad habit, not quite finishing your sentences. You should-" I was cut off by a pillow hitting me in the face.

"Now who's not finishing their sentences?" She asked smugly. "On another note, when did you get home last night?" I blushed as she subtly winked at me.

"Around 10:45. And no, I did not spend all of that time with Keefe. If you must know, I got called into work." I didn't mention how Keefe had showed up… or how he'd tipped my $150. I didn't know what she's do with that information, but I was 99% sure that it would involve major teasing.

"So, you didn't spend the night at Keefe's?" I turned to her, slightly horrified.

"No! Biana, I barely know him! I met him two days ago! I am not, I repeat, am not, going to be spending the night at his place. And even if I do, it will not be for years to come!" A grin slowly spread across her face.

"So you think that there will be years to come?" I buried my face in my hands. I really had to think before saying these things. "You are so adorable when you are in denial. Really." I rolled my eyes. "You are!" She insisted.

"Whatever. We don't have time to focus on that. It time to go Christmas shopping, and decorating, remember." Her eyes widened at she grabbed hoe phone and checked the date.

"Oh my gosh, it is! I can't believe I forgot! We gotta go!" I laughed as she grabbed my hand and attempted to drag me out of the apartment. "What store should we go to first? Do you think-" I cut Biana off by saying,

"Biana, you're still in your pajamas! And you need to brush your hair." Biana frowned, looking down at herself. "And then we need to go get the decorations from the storage unit. And of course I have the list." She pouted but didn't object as she began to gather her clothes and go into the bathroom to get ready.

 **0o0o0o0**

"Wait, Biana, hold up. Whoa, whoa, calm down just let me- BIANA YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK SOMETHING! Just… No, don't do that! All you need to do is-"

"GAHHHHHHHH" Sophie was cut off by what seemed like Biana's battle cry as she repeatedly attacked their dorm room with one of the fake tree branches. "It won't work! The instructions say to just click it into place, so why won't it go into the hole?!"

Sophie sighed, and grabbed the branch from Biana's hand, latching it onto the tree. "There, see? You just need to calm down" Biana flopped down onto her bed, groaning.

"I'm not gonna make it. We have to set up everything else, and we have to go Christmas shopping, and we have to make snicker-doodles and we have to- to do everything and I'm going to die!" Sophie laughed as she sat down next to her best friend and gently rubbed her back, trying to calm the panic attack.

"Oh, relax. You'll be just fine. Look, I know you're stressed out. We all are. So why don't we take a break from decorating and go shopping for the Christmas gifts. Isn't that your favorite part of the holiday?" Biana perked up. "And once we get back, I'll even let you do my make-up. Deal?"

"Deal."

 **0o0o0o0**

"Oh, and one of these, and one of these, and definitely one of these!" Biana was happily skipping along the rows of the dollar store, throwing anything and (Almost) everything into her basket.

"Okay, you know we're on a budget, right?" Biana pouted.

"But this is the dollar store! Everything is so cheap!" I smiled at her. She looked like an excited puppy as she practically skipped through the halls.

"Okay, but how many people are you planning to buy gifts for? Because this is enough for a small bus of people." Biana frowned, looking over the array of gifts.

"You think so? I suppose it is, but who ever complained about extra gifts?" She said, looking reluctant to put anything back.

"Uh, I think our bank accounts might complain a little bit." Biana sighed, but I could see that she knew I was right. "Let's just go through and put some things back. Besides, you want to save up enough money to buy some things at other stores, don't you?"

"But what do we put back? I like all of this!" I glanced into the cart, which was full of things, many of which were very pink, and very girly.

"Well, you do know we are shopping for the boy's too, right? Maybe tone it down on the, er, Make-up." I said, holding up an eye-shadow palette. Biana sighed.

"But I wanted to give you a makeover! And I think I've got the perfect supplies right-" I couldn't help but grin at her, as she was stopped. "You don't want a makeover, do you?" I shook my head. "But come on! You'll look good for Keefe-"

"And I am done with this conversation." I said, walking away from the aisle.

"Aww, come on. A little part of you likes him, right? Right?" I hated that she thought that. I hated that she was right even more.

"You do!" She shouted, sounding overjoyed.

"I never said that."

"Silence speaks louder than words." I rolled my eyes, hoping that she wouldn't catch my blush. "Come on."

"I… I really don't know right now Biana. I just met him!" I said, thinking about the phone call that I had had with Edaline last night.

"That's what I call 'love at first sight.'" I picked up a pillow that was on sale and threw it at her.

 **0o0o0o0**

"Right, so we've gotten gifts for Dex, Fitz, Alden, Grady, and now we need to get something for Edaline and Della, right?" I asked looking over the list I had brought. We were getting into the car, leaving the dollar store. Yes, it's cheap to buy gifts from the dollar store, but we're broke teenagers. What did you expect.

"Yeah. We should go to the mall! I bet we could find some nice clothing or make-up for them." Biana said.

"Yeah. Oh, and I should probably get a present for Keefe." Biana smirked, but I chose to ignore that. "I don't know what to get him though. Do you have any idea what boys like him want for Christmas?" Biana thought for a second.

"Maybe a pranking thing. You know, like those stink bombs. But hey, you're the one who know's him." She said, finally turning the car on and starting to pull out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Yeah, no way am I getting him a stink bomb. He'd use it to prank me, so unless you want our dorm to smell disgusting for the next few weeks, no." I grumbled. Keefe didn't seem like an easy person to buy a gift for. I could just get him chocolate or something, but that felt so impersonal. Plus, I wanted to get him something that would partly pay him back for the crazy tip he had given me last night.

I would probably find something though. Or Biana would help me find something. She was amazing at shopping, which was one of the reasons I liked to go with her to buy Christmas gifts. She always seemed to know exactly what to get everyone.

Then again, neither of us really knew Keefe. She was probably right that the best thing to get him would be some kind of pranking supplies. "And we're here!" Biana exclaimed, pulling into the parking lot.

"Right. What store should we go to first?" I asked, exiting out of the car.

"I don't know. We should probably just browse around a bit first. What's our budget again?" I shrugged.

"We don't have an exact price. Just get something that our bank accounts won't be mad about." I said with a shrug, walking through the aisles of the mall, looking at everything in the store windows.

"Alright! Well let's get started!" Biana said, clapping her hands excitedly. I smiled, following after her as she navigated her way through the mall.

She seemed to know exactly where she was going. Then again, that was hardly a surprise. The mall was almost her second home. Other than Fitz and Dex's dorm. I was just worried that I was going to get separated from her, and get horribly lost. I was awful at navigating through crowds. "Come on, Slowpoke! You're going to fall behind and get lost." Biana said, calling my fears.

"I know I will. You're just going so fast!" I said, tripping over my own feet as I tried to catch up to her.

"No, you're just going so slow!" Biana countered with a small laugh. But she did slow down for me. "And I was thinking that first we could go to Forever 21! Or maybe Christopher & Banks"

"Well, you're the master. I'm only here to make sure you don't make us go broke." I said with a laugh, grinning at Biana. She smiled back, and threw an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, first of all, I really need to teach you to shop. I mean, come on, when you finally stop being perpetually single, you're going to need to look nice for a date. Although, I'm probably going to be the one to help you with that. And We'll need to call Edaline and Mom over to help! And-"

"Okay, since when did you start preparing for my first date?" I interrupted, looking at her incredulously.

"Since you meet Keefe. I'm expecting you to get married any day now. He's going to make great babies." I froze, my eyes widened. _What did she just say?!_ "Okay, relax! I'm only joking. Though, from the expression on your face, you seemed to have taken it seriously. Interesting."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart. "Okay, changing the subject, we've arrived at Forever 21. I thought you were the one in charge of noticing these things." I said, nudging her playfully. She scoffed.

"Well I'm sorry I was distracted by your love life." I rolled my life. I didn't have a love life. Right? "Hey, how about you go shop for Keefe? I can take care of everything over here, and you can get him something because you know him. And if worst comes to worst, just get him candy. Can't ever go wrong with chocolate."

So it was agreed that I would search the mall (By myself for a change) To try and find a fitting gift for Keefe while Biana bought Edaline and Della gifts. After two hours, we would meet back up, and go home to finish setting up the decorations and preparing the food for Christmas dinner.

Nothing could go wrong with that plan, right?

Wrong.

Because we didn't plan for one thing. Fate. And fate seems to want me and Keefe to always bump into each other.

 **0o0o0**

There I was, innocently strolling through some store, looking at the sports equipment. Did Keefe even like sports? The question reminded me of how much I didn't really know him.

And then, by some miracle (For better or for worse) someone interrupted my peaceful shopping by saying, "Well, well. Who knew that Sophie Foster liked sports." My lips curled up into a smile involuntarily at the familiar voice coming from behind me. "With your tendency to trip, you should be wearing extra padding."

I turned around, ignoring the way my heart skipped a beat when I saw him leaning against a shelf, with his normal smirk. "Oh, it's not for me." I said. "It's for y-a friend. For Christmas." I explained, tripping over my words only slightly. Keefe raised an eyebrow, and took a step closer.

"A friend, huh?" He said, his ice blue eyes looking into mine, and sending a zoo loose in my stomach. I hoped he didn't notice how my cheeks felt so very warm. "What's he like?" I felt my stomach perform an entire gymnastics routine.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I managed to say. Keefe smirked.

"Maybe I would." At this point, I was 99 percent sure he knew I was talking about him, but for some reason, I played his game.

"Well," I said slowly, considering my word choice carefully. "He's nice."

Keefe let out a slight humming sound, and took another step closer. "Just nice?" I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks, and the feeling sent shivers down my spine.

"He's also cool." I breathed, looking at his chin. I wasn't sure I'd be able to string together a coherent sentence if I looked into those stupidly blue eyes of his. "And a little cocky."

"That's it?"

"Mischievous." I stammered, my breath hitching. Despite my better intentions, my eyes locked with his again, and I felt as if I was floating ten feet of the ground.

"Maybe handsome?" Keefe offered, leaning in slightly. His voice seemed deeper than it usually was. I felt every part of my body tingle as my mind was sent into a crazed panic.

"Only a little bit." I said, incredibly proud of my voice for staying strong. Keefe smirked, and his eyes flicked down to my lips, and his pupils dilated. He quickly moved his eyes back to mine, and The movement was subtle, but I still caught it. I felt myself start freak out. These situations always did that to me. But I didn't have anything to worry about. Because Keefe wasn't going to kiss me. No way. There was absolutely no- "So, uh, what's in the bag?" It took me a second to realize that I was the one who said it. And another after that to realize that he was, in fact, carrying a shopping bag.

Keefe leaned back out, taking his warmth with him. That bothered me for some reason. **(A/N: Hahahahah, you didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you? No, we've still got a while to go!) (A/N: Please don't hate me.)**

"Oh, nothing." He said, a faint blush taking over his face. But there was something in his eyes, something that wasn't there a minute ago. Something that sent shivers up and down my spine.

"So you just have a bag full of air?" Keefe rolled his eyes, but grinned.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." I scoffed. "I'm serious! I do dangerous things in my spare time! I just want to protect you from getting involved. That would anger the government."

I playfully shoved him as we started walking together out of the sports isle. "Really, what is it?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Really, it's nothing." Keefe's voice wasn't annoyed exactly, but it was flustered, almost like he was shy. And a light pink blush spread across his cheeks. It was almost cute. Almost.

"Are you blushing?" The question slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

"I am not!" Keefe objected.

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!" I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. He grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Maybe someday, I'll tell you. But for now, I've been sworn to secrecy."

"Are those paint brushes?" I asked, peeking into his bag. Keefe whipped his arm back, but I had already seen. I remembered the drawings I saw tacked up to his wall when I visited his dorm room.

"It's stupid." He mumbled, looking down at his feet. I stared at him incredulously. _Was he serious?_

"No, that's awesome! I wish I could draw like you." Keefe looked at me weirdly, like I was a puzzle he couldn't figure out. People were always looking at me like that, but I usually knew why. I was normally pretty good at figuring out what people were thinking. With Keefe, I had no clue. "Seriously, that's really cool." I added.

"So, you don't think it's stupid?" He was hesitant when he said it, like he didn't really believe me.I stared at him incredulously.

"Who would think it's stupid?"

Keefe snorted. "My parents, that's who."

"Well, your parents are stupid." It took me a second to realize that I had just insulted his parents, which was probably very offensive. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean… I just- It's not stupid. I'm sure your parents are fine I'm just saying that your drawings are awesome, and if your parents don't think that- I just… forget I said anything at all." I ranted, but when I looked over at Keefe, he didn't look insulted. He looked amused.

"Oh no, I totally agree with you. My parents are… Well, let's not talk about them." I got the feeling that there was some tension there. I was dying of curiosity, but I could tell that he didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't press for details.

We walked in comfortable silence for a few seconds, just relaxing in each other's presence. It was kind of nice not to feel like we had to fill the silence with banter, that we could just walk together.

Not that I liked him.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?" After a few more minutes. Keefe shrugged.

"Oh, nothing really. Playing some video games, binge watching Netflix, same old…" He trailed of after seeing my horrified expression. "What is it?"

"You can't seriously be saying you're going to be alone on Christmas?" We had stopped walking by that point.

"Whoa, it's fine. I'm used to it." My jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Seriously? You just spend every Christmas alone?" The thought made me sad. For me, Christmas had always been the time I spent with my friends, watching Christmas movies and eating way too much of Edaline's Mallowmelt (A family recipe that tastes like the stars were bottled up and turned into chocolatey food.) The thought of having to spend Christmas by myself… "You should come over to my place! My parents and my friends parents will be there, so it'll be a little crowded, but it will still be awesome. And we always watch a bunch of Christmas movies, and listen to Christmas music, and-"

"I wouldn't want to ruin your Christmas." He said, shrugging.

"You wouldn't be ruining Christmas! You'd be making it better! The more the merrier, right? And I'll let you have some of my mom's Christmas cookies, which are the best thing in the world. Oh, and you could be in the little dance off we always have, and you could join us for dinner too, if you wanted to. You haven't lived until you've tasted Edaline's cooking. And we always watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and I always cry, and I won't even get mad at you if you tease me about it." I stopped when .I noticed how Keefe was looking at me, like I was the most interesting thing on Earth.

"You're really cute when you rant, you know that?" There was something in his eyes. Something that told me I was beginning to tread in dangerous waters.

I thought back to the conversation I had with Fitz and Dex when they first found out about Keefe. 'He's a playboy. It's in his DNA'. But Keefe didn't seem like a playboy. "Earth to Foster! Anybody in there?" Keefe asked, knocking on my head. I shook myself back to reality.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just… thinking." I said quietly. Keefe cocked his head slightly towards me.

"Thinking, huh? About what? My incredible awesomeness? Or my stunning good looks?" Keefe did that cheesy finger gun thing at me, and I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Really, come to my flat for Christmas. Please?" Keefe looked at me for a second.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to barge in on time you try to spend with your fam-"

"Keefe Sencen, if you are not at my flat by One O'clock on Christmas, I will find you, and drag you there kicking and screaming if I have too. But you will be there." Keefe whistled, raising an eyebrow at my outburst.

"But see, now I kind of want to see you try to drag me anywhere I don't want to-" I hit him over the head. "HEY! Hands of The Hair!" He shouted, grabbing my hand, and pulling it off of the blonde mess that was his hair.

But even I had to admit: He knew how to style hair.

Not that I noticed how attractive it was.

Or how soft.

Keefe hesitated for a second, still gripping my hand, before gently twining our fingers together. I felt my heart start to beat faster, and my stomach started doing backflips, and although the tingles started at my hand, they quickly spread through my entire body, making me feel warm.

Not that I noticed.

Or cared.

"I'll be there, okay?" Keefe said, in a more serious tone than I had ever heard him use. And it sent chills down my spine.

"Okay." I said softly, moving a bit closer to him that I really needed to. Because I was cold. And Keefe had body heat. Yeah.

"Oh, and I expect an awesome gift from you. Like, really awesome. Like, as awesome as my hair awesome." I rolled my eyes, and Keefe thought about that, before adding, "Well, nothing is as awesome as The Hair. But you get the point."

"Right" I responded, laughing.

We continued on like that for a while, lapsing into another comfortable silence. His hand was still linked together with mine. I was tempted to lean my head on his shoulder, but something stopped me.

I was so relaxed right there, just walking with Keefe, that I nearly jumped ten feet in the air when a loud announcement came over the mall speakers.

"And now, Ladies and Gentleman, it is time for our annual Christmas dance off! Dance with a partner, or dance alone, but you don't want to miss this! You can find the special event in the plaza **(Do mall's even have plaza's?)** And I can promise you that it will be a blast! Entries will only be accepted for 10 more minutes, so come quick. This is one Christmas event that you don't want to miss. Plus, the lucky winner will receive a 75 dollar gift card to Starbucks! So head on over to start of Christmas season the right way." The way-too-loud voice finished, and I was ready to ignore it. I never danced.

That was until Keefe turned to me with those big ice-blue eyes. I knew what he was going to say before he said it, but that didn't stop me from being slightly surprised. "Come on, let's try it out! It could be fun!"

There was no way I was going to do that. Nothing anyone could say would possibly convince me to go to a dance off in public. Nope. Not going to happen.

 **0o0o0**

I went to the dance off.

I blame Keefe and his stupidly attractive puppy dog eyes. It's not fair! He plays dirty. Humph.

But nonetheless, I was here, right in the center of the mall. I didn't even know how to dance for Pete's sake! Keefe seemed to see me stressing out, because he gently gripped my shoulders and looked my in the eyes. "Whoa, relax! You look like you're going to have a heart attack. We'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could trip and give myself a concussion and spend my Christmas in a hospital in pain." Keefe laughed.

"Okay little-miss Pessimist. Brighten up, will you? Besides, I'll always catch you when you fall." A smirk spread over his face, and he winked playfully at the last words. I did what I always did when he acted stupid. I rolled my eyes, but still laughed.

And, credit where credit is due, Keefe did make me feel better. Sure, I didn't know how to dance. Sure, I had no plan whatsoever. Sure, this was probably going to end badly. But you know what? I was going to have fun. "Okay. Let's do this." I said with a smile.

Keefe grinned. "That's my girl!" I wasn't his girl, but for some reason, I didn't correct him. I didn't even want to.

And so, the dance competition started. There was no set dance we were supposed to do, just loud Christmas music.

I started off hesitant, but soon, Keefe's excited energy rubbed off on me, and I forgot that i was surrounded by about a hundred people. The only thing that mattered was how Keefe and I was spinning around, doing the craziest dance moves ever. It was the most fun I could ever remember having.

And his laugh, something about it was contagious, because whenever he would chuckle, I would follow his lead, and soon, our sides would hurt, but we would keep dancing because I was having the time of my life.

"See! I told you that it would be fun! Never doubt me!" Keefe shouted, spinning me around.

"I never did!" I responded, looking up into those vibrant blue eyes of his.

Keefe smirked smugly, before leaning down and picking my up. I shrieked at first, but then Keefe started spinning me around, and I could;ve sworn that we were the only two people in the world at that moment.

"My feet hurt" Keefe exclaimed gleefully at the top of his lungs, still spinning us both dizzy.

"Mine too!"

It wasn't funny, really. Our feet hurt. So what? But something about that comment had us both in hysterics. Keefe had to set me down because he was doubling over in laughter, and I ended up in a heap on the floor. We were probably creating a scene, but I was having so much fun, and felt so blissful, that meteors could have slammed into the Earth, and my smile never would've faded.

I only stopped laughing when I got two cramps, and somehow, Keefe had ended up on the floor next to me. I vaguely noticed that everyone was watching us, but I was too carefree to get embarrassed.

"Wow." Keefe breathed, turning his head over to look at me from his spot on the floor to my left.

"Wow." I agreed, grinning like an idiot.

"Who knew you had such good moves?" Keefe asked, sitting up and rubbing his sides, which were probably still aching from laughing so hard and all the exercising. I did the same.

"You're not too shabby yourself, mister." Keefe looked like he wanted to say something back, probably a witty remark of some sort, but he was abruptly cut off by a, tall, middle aged woman wearing a mall employee uniform.

"Well, I think everyone can agree that these two have won the dance competition!" She said. She had pixie cut black hair, and dark brown eyes, along with darker skin. "Well, let's give them a round of applause!" It took me a minute to realize that she was looking at me and Keefe when she said that.

I turned and looked at him, and his face mirrored the look of confusion and disbelief that was on my face.

"How about you two come on up and collect your prize?"

I got up with Keefe's help, and we went slowly to the stage. I kept expecting someone to tell us that this was a mistake, that we were not the real winners, but we got to the top of the little stage, and everyone there was cheering for us.

Normally, this would be the kind of situation I would have nightmares about. But standing there with Keefe (Who, at some point, had laced our fingers together again) I felt unafraid. Untouchable. Happy.

"Well, you get a $75 dollar gift card to Starbucks! I hope you enjoy, and everyone have a good day, and a very merry Christmas!" The girl said, before walking of the stage, leaving me and Keefe there.

We looked at each other once again, and out of some instinct, I threw myself at him in a hug, wrapping my arms tightly around.

It took me a second to realize that he may not want to hug me, so I asked "Sorry, is this okay?"

I couldn't see his face, but somehow I knew he was grinning as he responded, "This is perfect."

 **0o0o0**

Me and Keefe were heading back to where I promised I would meet Biana after we were both done shopping, because after we won the giftcard (Which Keefe had insisted I keep, despite my many protests.) I had realized that I was supposed to meet Biana 15 minutes ago.

"Um, Keefe?" I asked hesitantly. Something had been on my mind, and I wasn't planning on asking him but my curiosity is strong, and I am weak.

"Hmm?" He hummed happily, lightly swinging our interlocked hands back and forth.

"Well, uh… yesterday when you came to Veloce Beautine, you tipped my $150. Now, uh, don't think I'm ungrateful, because I really do appreciate it, but…"

Keefe glanced at me, a sweet smile on his face. "You seem like a person who deserves to be spoiled. And I have way more money than I know what to do with." Was his answer. "And I'm sure you could use it to find me a more than awesome gif-"

"SOPHIE FOSTER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? 20 MINUTE- Oh, hi Keefe, it's nice to see you. Right where was I? Oh, yes: 20 MINUTES! I WAS WORRIED SICK! IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'M CHANGING THE LOCKS TO OUR DORM, AND BURN EVERYTHING YOU OWN!"

I pointed an accusing finger at Keefe. "It's his fault!" I yelped. Keefe gasped, and clutched his chest as if I had just stabbed him.

"I'm betrayed, Foster. Just because I'm the one who roped you into going to the dance competition does not make it my fault!"

"Everything is your fault."

We continued like that, Biana looking back and forth between us like we were a part of some intense tennis match. "You really are going to get married."

And for some reason, I didn't deny it this time.

 **Okay, now it's 4, and I feel like I used hot sauce as an eye drop, and I'm to tired to make a cool outro, so I'm just gonna say Bye Lovelies!**


	11. Christmas special part one (I DID IT!)

**I GOT THIS OUT BY CHRISTMAS! Now, before you start complaining that it is way past Christmas, I'll have you know that in Hawii, it is only 11, which means that it's still Christmas. No, I don't live in Hawii, but it still counts.**

 **And yes, as you may have seen from the title, this is only part one. I will be making a second, because this was originally just going to be a huge chapter, but because of some personal things, I didn't get access to the internet again until late yesterday, so I only had time to do the first part out.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

You know, when It's christmas, and your parents are at your college dorm, and your best friends parents are at your college dorm, one of the worst things that could possibly happen is your best friend going to answer the door, and promptly shouting "SOPHIE! Your boyfriend is here!"

Now, this is bad for several reasons:

A). I don't have a boyfriend.

B). My dad totally takes the cake for 'Most Overprotective Father in the History of Ever'

And finally:

C). I was in my hot pink cat pajamas that Biana got me for Christmas a year ago and an old santa hat, which was a questionable wardrobe choice, but I wasn't exactly expecting guests.

"I don't have a boyfriend." I shouted back, acutely aware of the way Grady-My adoptive father-had snapped his head up from where he was helping Edaline-My adoptive mother-bake sugar cookies. I could already feel the warm blush spreading over my cheeks and nose at everyone's looks.

"Well it's that guy that you hang out with all the time, and rant about, and call cute, and-"

"Thank you Biana, we get the point. And I do not!" I could hear Biana sigh from all the way across the dorm where I was mixing the batter for the cookies.

"Aww, you're in denial." I rolled my eyes, racking every nook and cranny of my mind for a retort.

Luckily I was saved by a familiar teasing voice shouting, "Are you going to continue to talk about me like I'm not here?" I sighed, putting down the bowl full of cookie dough that I'd been mixing, and heading over to the door.

"Everyone give them their privacy! They need time to go all lovey-dovey without an audience!" I scoffed, and could almost hear Grady's scowl.

"Merry Christmas, idiot." I greeted the familiar Blond haired ice blue eyed guy who was leaning nonchalantly against my door frame.

"Merry Christmas, brilliant." He responded with a cheeky grin. I laughed slightly and pulled him in for a hug. When we pulled away, I saw as his gaze drifted downwards, and his eyes lit up. "Nice wardrobe choice. I hear hot pink cats are all the rage this season."

"You're a big moron, you know that?" I scoffed, trying to hide behind me hair like I always did.

Keefe winked dramatically as he gently moved my hair back behind me ear, his fingers lingering on my skin for just a second longer than necessary."And you love me for it." He responded cockily. Truthfully, I did, but I would never let him know that. "So, you gonna let me in?"

I blushed, embarrassed that I had forgotten. "Yeah, sure." I stood aside as he strode in like he owned the place. If he was surprised it see my parents or Alden and Della, he didn't show it.

Keefe flopped down onto my bed. "I'm hungry." He noted placing a hand on his stomach and looking at me pleadingly.

"Well it's not my job to feed you." I scoffed, returning to mixing the cookie dough that I had abandoned to greet Keefe.

"Rude much?" Someone cleared their throat-I'm still not sure who-and I remembered that I hadn't introduced Keefe to my family or the Vacker's.

"So, who's your friend?" My mom asked, and I did not like her smile one bit. It looked to much like Biana.

"Umm, right. So, uh, Keefe, this is my mom and dad. Mom and Dad, this is Keefe. Oh, and this is Alden and Della, they're Biana's parents." Keefe smiled, standing up from where he had made himself at home in my bed, and bowed.

"Keefe Sencen, at your service. I expect payment by the hour." I picked up a pillow from nearby and threw it at him. "Okay, okay! Wow, there's just no pleasing some people." I picked up another pillow. "Wait! I'm sorry! Don't throw it!" I sighed and put the pillow down.

"So, you and Sophie are... friends?" Grady sounded cautious, but I suppose that was just him being overprotective.

"Yeah, me and Foster go way back."

"He means that we met, what, a couple of days ago?" I said in response to Grady's raised eyebrow.

"Well, I think it's wonderful that you have a new friend." My mom said, with a goofy smile that I wasn't sure I liked. Della nodded.

"As do I." Edaline and Della shared a look that seemed to say something along the lines of 'Aren't they just adorable?"

Grady and Alden also shared a look, but that was more of an eye roll than anything else.

"Oh, Keefe, I almost forgot. I got you a gift!" I scrambled over to the mini tree that Biana and I had set up, and sorted through the other gifts until I found the one with the red and green polka-dot wrapping paper. I figured that would be a good way to change the subject.

Plus, I was excited to show him what I got him. A little nervous, but excited nonetheless. After he had left that day at the mall, I thought of something to get him. I'm still not sure what he would make of it but...

"Right, I got you one too. And one for Biana, because I figured it would be rude to show up at your dorm with a gift for you and nothing for her. And I like her. One of those two." I rolled my eyes, but grinned nonetheless. "And you better've gotten me something really good, because it took me forever to make yours."

"Don't worry, I think-Wait, you _made_ mine?" I said, pulling away from the bottom of the tree and looking at Keefe with a surprised expression. Keefe grinned in a way that seemed almost shy as he rubbed the back of his hair. But I must've been seeing things, because Keefe Sencen, Master mischief maker and the guy with an ego bigger than the Earth, did not get _shy._

"Yeah, I did. Well, I made part of yours. You'll see." I hesitated.

"You didn't make me something that makes me go bald or anything, right?" Keefe smirked, and leaned in so he could whisper in my ear.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." His voice sounded slightly deeper than usual, and a strange part of me wanted him to do that more. And then I realized how incredibly creepy that was.

But when I pulled away, I could've sworn that his pupils had dilated slightly. It must have been the lighting.

I gently pushed his gift towards him. Keefe raised an eyebrow, and picked it up, examining the wrapping paper with his eyes.

"Happy birthday." He read aloud.

"Give me a break! Biana and I ran out of Christmas wrapping paper. So happy early Birthday." I said, feeling the blush creep up my cheeks as I spoke.

Keefe shook his head, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. "You really are adorable. And dorky. And adorkable."

"That's not a word."

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"Oh, just open your gift and stop harassing me." I groaned, sitting cross legged on the bed, and patting the spot next to me, inviting Keefe to join me, an offer which he took up, flopping down and messing up the neatly made sheets.

"Can I shake it and guess what it is?" He asked, resting his head on my lap, and looking up at me with big eyes. I poked him on the nose. He grinned.

"You just have to open it!" I said, setting the gift on his chest. Keefe huffed slightly, but still took the gift in his hands and started tearing off the wrapping like a little kid. I held me breath, wondering if he would like what I had gotten him.

Keefe finished tearing up the wrapping paper, and looked at the art kit I had gotten him. It was nothing special, just some art supplies and paper, but I had heard that it was a great art kit, and it was on sale, so win-win.

There were a few seconds of silence, and I felt my heart rate shoot up. _He hated it, didn't he? He hated it. I should've just gotten candy. Why had I ever thought-_ My mental rantings were cut off when I felt Keefe's arms wrap tightly around my waist. "Oh!" The cry of surprise slipped out before I could stop it.

I smiled once I got over the surprise, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me, and nuzzling my head comfortably into the crook of his neck..

But I only did that because... Okay, this time, I don't have an excuse. I just cared about the loveable idiot.

"Thank you." Keefe's words were so quiet that I wasn't even sure I really heard them. But I still couldn't stop myself from whispering "You're welcome." Into his ear, and holding him extra tight for a second.

Someone cleared their throat- I'm still not sure who- And Keefe and I scrambled apart, both of us blushing like mad. Keefe was kind of cute when he was blushing. It made him look more... boyish. Younger. And it highlighted the few freckles that lined his nose and cheeks, which just made him cuter, and- "You know, I do really love it when you oogle me, Foster, But you still have to open my gift. And then you have to declare that I am the master gift giver."

I rolled my eyes, as I picked up the rectangular gift. It wasn't very heavy, and I couldn't help but felt my curiosity start to form in my chest. After all, Keefe did say that he had made my gift, which made me wonder what it was. What would Keefe make for me? Food, maybe?

I gently started peeling of the wrapping paper, trying not to rip it up like most people did. It was an odd habit, trying to save wrapping paper, but I had done it since she was 5, and old habits die hard.

"Oh, just open it already!" Keefe shouted, looking impatient as I struggled to find a good spot to gently peel of the tape. But the wrapping was not going to win any awards of neatness in the near future.

"I'm trying to be delicate!"

"It's Christmas! Who has the time to be delicate?" Keefe responded to my declaration, rolling his eyes at at. Sophie grinned, and started being extra soft and careful, just to annoy Keefe. "I swear, if you don't start unwrapping that, then I will do it for you. And bang it over your head a few times while I'm at it!"

"Okay, okay, fine! I'm going! No need to get all violent on me!" Isaid, finally obliging to Keefe's wishes as I started tearing off the wrapping paper faster.

The first thing that caught my eye was... a blank piece of paper? "Turn it over." Keefe said, watching me very closely, seeming to be searching for a reaction from her. I glanced back up at him, trying to piece together what this gift was. What would Keefe make with paper?

An idea started to form in my mind, but I still wasn't sure how correct it was. After all, Keefe wouldn't do that for me, would he?

But he did say that he made it, and what else would Keefe make?

"Would you stop spacing out and just look at it? You're killing me!" Keefe said, nudging her shoulder, and looking nervous. I took a page out of Keefe's book, and rolled my eyes at him, making my best attempt at a smirk.

"Aww, are you scared? You're blushing!" I remarked, crossing my arms over my chest smugly.

"And you're stalling. What, are you worried that you'll find me even more irresistible after you see how awesome I am at giving gifts? I wouldn't blame you. After all, I know that I'm incredibly hot. It's a wonder you've managed to keep your cool around me when you're obviously crushing hard." Keefe leaned back in the bed, pressing his back to the wall, and smirking at her with that infuriatingly adorable smirk.

I opened her mouth quite a few times, trying to come up with something, anything to say that would knock that smile of his face. But then I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to say anything without tripping over my words, or blurting out something that I would regret later.

Instead, I tried to hide my face behind my hair, and picked out an itchy eyelash, feeling my face start to heat up. Because, maybe, a tiny part of me was whispering that Keefe was right.

Then, I felt Keefe's fingers gently sweep her hair behind her ear, his fingers leaving a hot trail on my skin as he did so.

Immediately, my heart rate seemed to speed up to a thousand beats per minute as I noticed how he had scooted closer to me, so our faces were just an inch apart, as his beautiful ice-blue eyes stared into my brown ones.

I was hit with a strong sense of déjà vu, as she recalled something very similar happening just yesterday.

But maybe this time, I wouldn't pull away.

Maybe this time, I didn't even want to.

Maybe I was kind of enjoying his warm, minty breath warming my already burning cheeks.

Maybe.

Keefe leaned in, and I watched his every movement as closely as I could. Everything in me was so desperately trying to come off as cool and collected, when my brain, and heart, and everything inside me was screaming louder than ever before.

Keefe's hand gently reached up, and cupped my face, his thumb gently caressing my skin. "Look who's blushing now." Keefe said, in a tone so low it was almost a whisper. I vaguely noticed how his voice sounded deeper and raspier than it usually did, but at that moment, all I could think of was Keefe, and how very kissable he looked.

There were voices around them, but the background was all dulled in comparison to what was going on at the moment.

Keefe's eyes flicked to my lips, and they dilated.

I did the same, noticing how soft his lips looked. Wondering if they were actually that soft...

Everything around the two of us disappeared, making us both forget everything but each other.

I felt my eyes began to flutter shut, and Keefe leaned in slightly more, and...

"Hey, sorry we're late! We just... Um, are we interrupting something?" Dex's voice was like a pin that shattered the bubble Keefe and I had been floating away in, and shocked both of them back to reality. (A/N: I'm really so sorry. I'm actually really really sorry. I know you probably will never forgive me, and i didn't actually plan to make you mad at me, but then the words were flowing. But I already know when their first kiss will be, and I didn't want to ruin that. I am just so sorry!)

Both of us scrambled to opposite sides of the mattress, trying to act casual, as if their moment of... whatever just happened between us was nothing.

There was a cold spot on my cheek where Keefe's hand had previously been, and I missed the feeling more than I would ever care to admit.

Fitz and Dex stood in the doorway, their faces a mix of curiosity, confusion, and total embarrassment. I was sure my face looked somewhat the same, but with a dash of horror added to the mixture.

More than a few moments of awkward silence passed between the four of us, before Keefe finally said, "Nah, Sophie was just about to find out what an amazing gift giver I am." Trying (And failing) To sound casual.

A few more moments of awkward silence, before there was a shuffling noise coming from the bathroom, and the door creaked open. A pair of teal eyes looked through the crack, before opening the door.

"WHO INTERRUPTED MY OTP? WHO DID IT?!" Biana sounded really, really angry.

"It was all him!" Fitz shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Dex.

"Why is it my fault? You're the one who opened the door in the first place!" Dex retorted. "Biana should kill you, not me!"

"Boys, I'm pretty sure than Biana is planning to kill both of you. I think you should start running now." Della said, following Biana out of the bathroom. After her came Edaline (With the stupid, goofy grin.), Grady (Looking really overprotective.) and Alden (Looking like a mix of both Grady and Edaline.)

"This isn't what it looked like!" Was the first thing to come from my mouth, as I instinctively tugged out itchy eyelashes like mad.

"Sophie, dear, this is the definition of a situation that is what it looks like." Edaline cooed, as she rubbed Grady's arm, trying to calm him down.

"Wait, is no one going to ask why everyone was hiding in the bathroom? Seriously?" Keefe asked, raising both his eyebrows as he scrutinised everyone in the room. "I can't be the only one wondering!"

Alden chuckled. "Well, my daughter took it upon herself to try and rid you both from any and all distractions. If that involved shoving us into a bathroom, she was going to shove us in a bathroom. Not that her efforts were to much avail." He was watching Biana fondly, amusement sparkling in both of his beautiful teal eyes.

"Thank goodness for that." Grady grumbled, glaring at Keefe with such an intensity that I half expected lazers to come out of Grady's eyes and burn Keefe to a crisp.

"Umm... right." I was struggling to find something to talk about that might ease the tension in the room, but my mind came up blank, as it always did in these kinds of situations.

Keefe, however, was apparently way more socially adept than I was, because he could actually come up with something to say that worked as a distraction. "Hey, Foster, you know you still have to open my present, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I totally forgot!" I said, a little too eagerly. What can I say? I was desperate for a way out of that situation.

I turned back to the gift, and lifted the piece of paper, finding two more pieces under it. And under them was a box of chocolate. "Candy!" I couldn't help the excitement in my voice as I looked at the box. It was that expensive type of candy, that was filled with different kinds of cream, and made your mouth feel like heaven.

"That was just in case you didn't like the other thing I got you. Can't go wrong with chocolate, can you?"

Keefe's remark brought my attention back to the pieces of paper that I was still holding upside down in my hand. I slowly turned them over, both nervous and excited to see what was on them.

I was so not prepared for what I found.

I mean, I knew Keefe was an artist, and I had guessed that this might be a drawing, but... this was more than beautiful.

The first one was a picture of me, holding Harmony in my arms, just like I did at Veloce Beautine. But everything looked so vibrant, from Jason and Julie smiling at me in the background, to the name tag on my uniform.

And I looked way more beautiful than I was in real life. My normally dull eyes were shining with flecks of honey, and my hair was shining like it never did. I was caught with a too perfect smile on my face, my mouth slightly open with laughter.

Keefe couldn't see me as this beautiful, could he?

The next picture was just as good, if not better. This one was at the mall, during the stupid dance competition. I was laughing and smiling brighter than I could ever remember, as I did some little twist. I looked just as beautiful as I did in the last picture.

The final picture took my breath away. In that one, I was surrounded by Dex, Fitz and Biana. Biana was on my right side, and she had her arm thrown around my shoulder, and was giving me a knowing smile. Dex and Fitz were grinning on my left, seemingly laughing at a joke one of the two of them said. And I...

I was in the middle, watching the two boys with an exasperated grin. Something about me looked amazing. Maybe it was the l way some of my hair was splayed across my face from the wind. Maybe it was how my eyes sparkled bright. Maybe it was the way I stood, confident yet comfortable. But something about this picture seemed realistic. All the pictures did seem very realistic, but this one... I don't know. There was just something about it.

I couldn't look that beautiful, could I?

"What do you think?" Keefe sounded really nervous, as if he was afraid that I wouldn't like them.

I turned towards him, and threw my arms around his next, making him fall backwards. When he did, we both lost the balance, and tumbled to the floor, landing tangled in my blanket.

And I still didn't release him from my death grip.

"Whoa, easy there. You're going to get us killed." Keefe said, but he was laughing, and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

WE stayed in that position for a while before I heard Biana say "You guys are so cute, it's not even fair. Like, I bet if I wrote a book about your romance, it would sell better than Harry Potter." I rolled my eyes. _Who would want to read a book about me?_

I finally got up, untangling myself from the blanket, and standing.

Keefe stood too, dusting himself off. "I should probably go." He said, looking around the room. "Wouldn't want to ruin the time you want to spend with your family."

"Oh... where are you going?" I asked, trying not to show him how disappointed I was that he was leaving.

"I dunno. Just to my dorm, I guess." I felt my resolve harden.

"No! You are not allowed to spend Christmas alone. I forbid it." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. Keefe grinned.

"But-"

"No but's. I forbid it. End of story. You're staying here unless you have someone else to spend Christmas. And before you ask, no, your video game consoles do not count as someone." I told him. "Now come help us make cookies."

Keefe grinned, looking down at me like I was adorable. "As you wish."

 **Okay, I hope you enjoyed! Bye Lovelies!**


	12. Christmas special part two! (Finally)

**Ugh. To tired to write author's note. Will edit one in later. Just read the chapter that took me wayyyyyy to long to write.**

 **Edit:**

 **Yay! it's the morning after my... what... like 7 hours of sleep, which isn't actually that small of an amount, but I'm still tired. Bleh.**

 **But these last few months have been very eventful. The biggest thing: I got a cat!**

 **She's ten weeks, so still a kitten, and she's really playful! And fast. I love her so much! Her name is Chocolate chip, but we call her Coco because she's black and brown. She's just the cutest thing ever!**

 **But anyways, here's the story. And yes, I know it took me wayyyyy to long to write it. I think it's my longest chapter, if that makes anything better :). But yeah, onto the story:**

 **(Oh, and yes, I posted this on Wattpad and forgot to post it here. I'm so sorry!)**

I was really regretting making Keefe make those cookies.

Apparently, his skill set did not include baking.

At all.

"How did you make it solidify? I didn't even know that was possible!" I cried, trying to mix the cookie dough that Keefe had taken charge of. It was harder than a rock. Literally.

"I don't know! I just... I just mixed it! And then... that happened." Keefe said, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and messing with his hair (Somehow making it look better, Not that I noticed.). "I didn't mean to!"

"You got a spoon stuck in it! A SPOON! How did you... You're worse than I am! And that's saying something!" I yelled at him, trying to yank the spoon out of the solid cookie dough.

"It's true." Fitz said. "Sophie once burned down the school trying to do chemistry." Fitz chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"IT WAS JUST THE SCIENCE LAB!" I objected, batting his hand away.

"And parts of the kitchen!" Dex added from where he laid down on my bed, throwing my pillows up and down.

"Didn't you make Mr. Sweeney's hair catch on fire? Boy, was he maaaaaad! He already hated you, and I'm pretty sure that didn't help." Biana not-so-helpfully added to the conversation, from where she was helping Edaline and Della decorate the first batch of finished cookies.

"Oh, yeah, didn't you end up destroying a bunch of kids binders?" Alden asked, from where he and Grady were setting up decorations that Biana and I didn't get to yesterday, because Biana was too busy interrogating me about everything and anything me and Keefe did when we bumped into each other at the mall.

"And you also-" Fitz's voice was cut off by my screams.

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH! I THINK WE GET IT!" I yelled. "THERE IS NO REASON TO BRING UP MEMORIES THAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY, VERY HARD TO REPRESS TO THE DARKEST CORNERS OF MY MIND!"

"You are just precious when you get angry, aren't you?" Keefe chuckled, watching we fondly. "I mean, it's just adorable. Almost as adorable as you are when you blush." Right on cue, I started blushing. "There it is! That famous Foster blush is coming back!" I tried to look annoyed, but a smile forced its way onto my lips.

"Yeah, but she blushes at everything, so it doesn't count." Fitz said dismissively. "Hey, Sophie, you're smart." Right on cue, I blushed.

"How did this conversation become about me?! Were we not focusing on how Keefe got a SPOON stuck in COOKIE DOUGH?" Keefe smiled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Aww, but it's much more fun to embarrass you!" He said, laughing.

"For once, I agree with Keefe. I mean, your reactions are just priceless!" Dex laughed, still playing with the pillows on my bed.

"Okay, okay, fine. I get it. You all love torturing me. And I thought you were my friends!" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Aww, we all love you." Biana said, smiling up at me. "Especially Keefe." I saw Keefe grin.

"So, this is the Biana who want us to get married, right?" Keefe asked. For a moment, I panicked. How did he even know that? But then, I remembered the conversation we had had, where I stupidly blurted everything Biana had told me to him.

"Wait, what?!" Grady asked, snapping his head up. Biana grinned a smug grin.

"Well, what can I say? They're just so adorable. I mean, it's just a match made in heaven. Besides, Sophie really needs to get out more! I mean, come on, she hasn't even ever had a boyfriend!" Biana said, unable to keep a grin of her face as she studied me and Keefe.

"You've never had a boyfriend?" Keefe asked, sounding surprised. I shrugged, blushing, and looked down.

"No." I admitted quietly, gently tugging out an itchy eyelash. Keefe stared at me. "Is that... bad?" I asked, more than a little afraid of the answer I might get back.

"No! Not at all! I was just... a little surprised. I mean, you're cute and pretty, and just... you're you. I would've thought that boys would be throwing themselves at your feet." I snorted at how wrong Keefe was.

"See? Match made in heaven." I heard Biana whisper, followed by Edaline and Della giggling, and whispering something inaudible back. I choose to ignore the whispered conversation that they were having.

Instead, I thought about what Keefe had said. Did he really think so highly of me? How could he? I was just... just me.

"Hey." Keefe whispered, after everyone had gotten distracted from us. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was just... surprised." He whispered. "I know it probably made you feel awkward or embarrassed or something. So, I'm really sorry." I turned around to face him, and gently smiled.

"Oh, it's fine." I said back, trying to ignore how close we were. If I wanted too, I could count his eyelashes, which were much longer and darker than I realized before. The way they framed his eyes, the light ice blue of his iris' contrasting with the black lashes made him look older than he was. Which also made me feel really small.

"See something you like, Foster?" His tone was teasing, but there was something serious in his eyes. Something that made my heart beat faster, and my stomach to twist upside down, and inside out.

"Nope! Just you." I said, doing my best attempt at a smirk, and trying not to look like a crushing girl.

Because I wasn't a crushing girl.

Nope.

"Hmm... not buying it. I know when you're lying, Foster. It's one of my specialties." He gently tapped my nose, grinning like a spider with a trapped fly. It was a moment before I realized that I was the trapped fly.

"Oh? And how do you know?" I asked, trying to keep my cool, even though every part of me was going a million miles an hour.

"Because," He said, leaning in, so his mouth was just above my ear. "I'm psychic." I could feel his warm breath on the side of my face. His breath smelled minty, like toothpaste.

"Oh, shut up." I scoffed, playfully shoving him away. I hoped he couldn't see the real reason I pushed him away; I couldn't think straight when he was close. It was like my brain had short-circuited.

"Make me." Keefe challenged. He looked almost curious, as if he wanted to see what I would try to do.

I walked over to my bed, trying to make it look natural. "Dex," I whispered, "pass me a pillow, would you?" I asked quietly. Dex looked at me strange, but tossed a pillow at me.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I whipped around and hurled the pillow at Keefe.

The ten silent seconds that followed seemed like the longest ten seconds of my life. Keefe was staring at me, open-mouthed and shocked. Biana, Della, and Edaline were grinning. Alden seemed to be holding back laughter. Grady looked a tad bit mad at Keefe. And Dex and Fitz... they didn't seem to know what they should feel.

I was sure I looked like a deer in headlights as I stared at Keefe, trying to figure out if he was mad or not.

And then, slowly, Keefe lifted the pillow off the ground, inspecting it. Suddenly, I saw it hurtling towards me. I didn't have time to try and block it or doge it. All I could do was let out the most pathetic yelp ever as it hit me in the face.

When I had recovered from the blow, I looked up to see Keefe grinning cockily. "Two can play at that game, Foster." Was the only thing he had to say.

"Make that three!" Biana shouted, jumping up and reaching for a pillow.

Soon, everyone in the apartment was having just about the biggest pillow fight ever. I didn't even know where the pillows were coming from, but all you could see in the room were flying colors, going too fast to see clearly.

And, of course, there was screaming. I was sure that the neighbors were getting annoyed at the racket we were creating. Any time anyone got hit with a pillow, we would scream.

It was exhausting.

It was messy.

It was so, very immature.

And it was the most fun I had ever had.

"Sophie! Mom! Edaline! Girls against boys, what do you say?!" I could barely hear Biana's cry over the deafening comotion.

"Sure!" I replied, Edaline and Della quickly agreeing to join our alliance as well.

"That's no fair!" Dex shouted. "Who said there were teams?!" I grinned at him, before whirling a pillow at his face.

"We did!" Was my only reply.

"We outnumber you!" Fitz shouted, as he grabbed Dex's arm, helping him up. "You've been warned!"

"You may outnumber us in people, but we outnumber you in awesomeness!" Biana shouted back, creating a stock pile of pillows on the side of the room we were on.

"You wish!" Grady shouted. "I happen to believe that we are quite awesome."

"And I happen to believe that you are totally and completely delusional!" Edaline said, smirking at her husband. Grady smiled at her adoringly.

Suddenly, I saw a storm of pillows fly past my head and slam into Alden, almost knocking him over. I spun around, finding Della behind me, rubbing her hands together satisfactorily.

The first thing you ever learn about Della is that, while she may look petite, and she dresses up nice, she was fierce.

"Wha- Hey!" Alden cried, surprised.

I was so distracted by everything else going on around me that I wasn't prepared to react when I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist, and hoist me into the air. "What- Keefe! What are you doing?!" I yelped.

"If you get to team up, we get to take hostages." I could almost hear the smirk on his lips as he carried me over to the boy's side of the room.

"DID YOU JUST KIDNAP MY DAUGHTER?!" Edaline cried, staring dumbfounded at the boys.

"It appears we did." Alded remarked, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

"Hey! Why are you attacking us?! It was Keefe who kidnapped her!" I heard Dex cry, after a series of dull thunks, which I assumed was pillows hitting them.

"But then we would hit Sophie!" Della exclaimed.

"Well don't take it out on us!" Fitz replied.

"Hey! I've got an idea. Why don't we team up against Keefe?" Biana asked, sounding somewhat like a mad scientist.

There was scattered agreement, and I heard Keefe shout "What did I do?!" Before pillows came flying faster than the wind.

"You stole Sophie!" Dex shouted, before he threw a pillow full force, narrowly missing Keefe's face.

"I borrowed her! I'm going to give her back!" Keefe corrected.

"Keefe Sencen, if you don't put me down in five seconds, you will regret it!" I yelled, trying to flail out of his arms. However, he had a strong grip.

"But see, now I'm quite curious as to what you might do." He said, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes, trying harder to escape.

"You're cute when you struggle." I tried to glare at his cocky remark, but somehow, I ended up smiling. _What is it about him?_

0o0o0

I wasn't exactly sure when the pillow fight ended. That was something weird about my family; there were no real transitions. Nothing ended to something else to happen. Everyone just sort of shifted over at their own pace, usually without realizing it.

Somehow, we had started frosting the cookies. We has less this year then usual (Probably because we usually didn't manage to get the dough to solidify while mixing it. *Cough* Keefe *Cough*.) It was... weird having Keefe here.

Not bad weird.

Maybe it was good weird.

"No way! Superman is so much cooler than Batman!" I heard Keefe shout at Dex and Fitz.

"I'm sorry, is Superman a genius? I didn't think so." Dex responded, rolling his eyes as he added to the comic book discourse all the boys were having (Yes, that did include Grady and Alden.)

"How are you all forgetting about Iron Man? I mean, seriously, how could anyone compare with him?" Fitz said.

"Am I the only one who knows that the Green Arrow is obviously the correct answer here? He doesn't need super powers _or_ technology to be an awesome hero." Grady said. Alden quickly agreed, adding to Grady's argument with some comic book nonsense that went: "In the 38th edition..." I couldn't help but smile at how geeky all the boys were.

Sometimes, you could think they were all cool and popular. But get them going on comic books, and you'll never hear the end of it. Apparently, Keefe was much like that too.

"You know, I love my husband, I really do, but sometimes I have to wonder if he's fully sane." Edaline said, looking at Grady, amusement dancing across her face.

"I agree. What is it with boy's and comic books?" Della asked, sharing a knowing look with Edaline.

"Right, like you guys don't gossip everyone's ears off every chance you get." I remarked, trying to make one of the cookies look somewhat decent (I failed.).

"That's different!" Biana yelped, looking at me as if I just insulted her great ancestors. I held my hands up in a sign of defeat, and Biana rolled her eyes, going back to decorating. "And we don't gossip. We... we talk about stuff that had happened to people. Usually without them knowing."

I scoffed. "Fine, Biana. But let me ask you this: what exactly do you classify as gossip?" Biana ignored me, seeming to be trapped into a corner.

Della, however, swiftly changed the subject (Somewhat.). "Gossip would be... oh, I don't know, maybe talking about how you stare longingly at Keefe every chance you get." She said, grinning at me. The blush started up on my cheeks, but I was not going to lose my cool.

"I have no idea what you mean." I said, trying my hardest not to glance at Keefe. The boys couldn't hear us, right? Oh, please let them not hear us.

"Aww, Biana, you really weren't kidding when you said she was knee-deep in denial, were you?" My jaw fell open.

"When did you even tell them that?!' I asked, a little to loud. The boys turned and looked at me, trying to figure out what was going on.

After a few seconds of silence, where Biana, Della, and Edaline were looking exasperated at my lack of gossiping skills, and all the boys were looking from one girl to another, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, Fitz took the lead, saying "Um, is everything okay over there?"

"Oh, everything is grand." Biana said, leaning back in her chair and grinning evilly. "Us girls were just talking about how So-" She didn't have time to finish that statement before I frantically cut her off.

"Nothing! We were talking about nothing. Um, it's just school stuff. And, that... stuff." I said lamely, trying desperately to throw the attention of the topic of interest.

"Liar!" Dex shouted pointing an accusing finger at me. "That's your lying face!" I blushed, subconsciously raising a hand to my burning cheeks.

"I don't have a lying face!" I objected.

"Yeah you do." Fitz said, playfully throwing a hand towel at me. "Your eyebrows furrow a little, and your nose scrunches up. It's like this." He said, scrunching up his face tightly, making himself look like a chipmunk. Even if I did have a lying face, it was not _that_ bad!

"I don't look like that!"

"Yes, you do." Keefe said. "Like a little, adorable chipmunk." I rolled my eyes crossly, glaring at him. "Aww! I didn't think it was possible for the chipmunk to get any cuter, but now she's glaring! You're just precious!"

"Am not!"

"Are too." Keefe said, challenging my rejection.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Okay, you know what? We're done with everything about this conversation!" I said.

"Scared that you're gonna lose, Foster?" Keefe's smug grin infuriated me more than I can say.

"Oh, stuff it."

0o0o0

"Mom, are they done yet?" I asked, looking at her as she continued frosting the cookies.I was sprawled on my bed, half my body hanging off upside down. Keefe had joined me in my position, pretending to be a monkey.

"Almost done." She said, not even glancing up from her decorating.

"You've been saying that for the last half-an-hour! I want a cookie!" Dex complained, spinning around in the chair me and Biana used at our shared desk.

"Patience is a virtue." Della said. She was helping my mom.

"Patience is annoying" Biana replied, from where she was sitting on the table, watching Della and Mom work on the cookies, her eyes hungry.

I was hungry, too. Plus, my mom's cookies were the best thing in the world. They were fit for a king. And I wasn't even exaggerating. Out of everywhere I had ever gone, no cookie could even compete with Edaline's.

Once, Jason and his family had dinner with mine, and he had spent the entire time begging Edaline to tell him what her recipe was, so he could use it in Veloce Beautine. She didn't give it to him.

"Hurry up!" Grady groaned. "Everyone here is hungry." He complained, wrapping his arms around Edaline's waist from behind, and resting his chin on her head. "They don't have to be perfect. They just have to taste good. They're all going to end up in our stomachs anyway, why does it matter what they look like before?" I could see A smile flitter over her lips as my mom gently turned and lightly kissed Grady.

"But they're so much better when they look good! Plus, they taste better with frosting spread out equally, so you don't get too much in one bite. See? You can't give it too much frosting, or it will overpower the tas- Hey!" Grady, as Edaline had started rambling, had leaned down, and taken a bite out of the cookie that she was in the middle of frosting. Grady just smiled.

"See? It tastes good!" He said, his mouth still full. Or, well, that's what he meant to say. He actually said something more like this: "Swe? It tas gwod"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Edaline chided. "and don't steal my cookie!" Grady grinned.

"I could always give it back." He offered, opening his mouth a bit to reveal the chewed up cookie in his mouth.

"Eww! No! That's disgusting." Edaline said, swatting at his chest. "And I'm almost done! Just three more to go!"

"Your mom's cookies are really that good, huh?" I smiled, looking over at Keefe.

"Trust me, you haven't lived until you've tasted one of her cookies." I told him, tapping his nose gently. He grinned, poking me back. And soon, we were in a full on poking war.

"Okay! We're done!" Della called out, as she set the last cookie carefully on the plate.

"Get ready to have the best cookie that you will ever taste." I said to Keefe, rolling of the bed, and tugging his arm to try and speed him up.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He yelped, tripping over his feet as he tried steady himself. "You grabbing my arm is not helping!" I grinned, just tugging harder.

"You know, Foster, I've had some pretty good cookies in my life." Keefe said, once we arrived at the table. "It's gonna be hard to bea-" I cut him off by shoving a cookie in his mouth. Immediately, his eyes widened. "Okay, I apologize for any doubts I ever had. This is the best cookie that will ever exist." He said, after he had finished chewing. Keefe grabbed another one, taking a bite out of it.

"Save some for me!" I cried, reaching for a couple or cookies before they all disappeared. Keefe chuckled at my distress, and wrapped his arms around me from behind, so his chin was resting on my shoulder.

Then, without warning, he leaned in and took a bite of the cookie I held in my hand. "Hey!" I yelped, trying to jerk away before he got a bite, but not succeeding. Keefe grinned at my glare as he happily munched on his- no, _my_ cookie. "That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, Foster." I rolled my eyes, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"Huh." I heard Dex say, a strange tone in his voice. When I turned to look at him, his eyes were darting back and forth between me and Keefe, his expression telling me that he was surprised.

"What?" Both Keefe and I asked at the same time, causing us both to giggle.

"Oh, it's nothing." Dex said. "Just, Well... Fitz and I were talking, and I think he was righ-" Fitz clapped a hand over Dex's mouth before he could finish the thought.

"Nothing!" He said, glaring at Dex. "It's nothing."

There was something about that interaction that made me wonder if they were talking about me and Keefe. And if they were, what about me and Keefe? They were studying us like we were some kind of fascinating creatures with two heads.

I glanced over at Biana to see if she had something to do with this, but she looked just as confused as I felt. So did the adults. "Are you guys okay?" The question slipped from my mouth before I could even think about it. "You're acting weird. I mean, you're always weird, but now it's like you're really weird. That's not a bad thing! I mean... yeah." I ended lamely, stopping my rant while I still could.

Biana grinned as she said, "I think that they may have just realized that the two of you," Biana took a little pause for dramatic effect as she looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. "are soulmates!" Biana's proclamation was followed with raised eyebrows. But she didn't seem to care. Probably because she was too busy grinning like and idiot and bouncing on her feet to even notice.

"That's definitely not it." Dex said, using a monotone voice.

Biana pouted. "Not even a little bit?" She sounded so hopeful.

"No, not even a little bit." Confirmed Fitz, rolling his eye sat his little sister. "Sorry Bi." He added as an afterthought.

"Are these normal conversations for you?" Keefe asked, looking from one person to another. "Like, do you talk about soulmates often? Because it seems like you know how this interaction goes."

"When you grow up with Biana, you learn how to do this with pro-skills." Fitz explained, ruffling Biana's hair. "You have these conversations every other hour." Keefe laughed at Fitz's comment.

"Do you have a sister?" I asked Keefe, realizing again how little I really knew about him.

"Not biologically. But there's this girl- Ro- Who is like a sister to me. (YASSS! I'm bringing some Nightfall spoilers into this! Nothing major though. At least, not yet.) Keefe smiled, looking over at me curiously. "What about you, Foster? Got any more family you've been hiding from me?"

I had been dreading this question for a while now. Whenever i was close to making friends with someone, they would ask this, and pity me when I told them. "Um, I had a sister. Amy. But... she died." I could see Keefe begin to freak out, as he started trying to figure out how to comfort me. "And, er... My biological parents died with her. Um, so I was adopted by Grady and Edaline. But... uh... their first daughter, Jolie, died several years before they adopted me." The thirty seconds of silence that followed my sob story were the longest thirty seconds of my life.

Then, suddenly, I felt Keefe's arms wrap around me. "I'm sorry. For whatever it's worth." I leaned into Keefe, trying my hardest not to cry. Keefe gently ran his hand through my hair.

"It's okay. I'm used to it." Of course, that was a lie. You never 'get used' to the pain. You just adjust to it, and learn how to live with it. But you were never 'used to' it.

"You shouldn't have to be used to it." Keefe said, holding me even tighter. I gently rested my head on his chest, absorbing the body warmth I could feel through his t-shirt. I wrapped my arms around his neck, having to stand on my toes to do so.

I had always been short, but compared to Keefe, I was down-right tiny. And surrounded by his arms, I felt safe. "Thank you." I breathed, so quiet I wasn't sure he could even hear me.

But then, he pulled back, just enough to look into my eyes, and softly said "You're welcome, Foster."

"Um, I don't want to mess up your moment," Biana said, sounding way to giddy for my liking. "but I think you should look up." Keefe and I obliged, looking up at the ceiling And, right over the both of us, a piece of mistletoe was hanging from a string.

 _Oh no._

 _No no no._

This was not happening.

 _Please don't let this be happening!_

"We-we don't have to!" I stuttered out. "Kiss, I mean. We don't have to kiss. It's just a silly tradition, and Biana wants us to do it because she ships us, but no one will be upset if you don-" Keefe cut me off by cupping my face in both his hands. The way he held be was so soft, so gentle. Like if he just touched me too hard, I would shatter into a million pieces. Like I was to delicate and precious to mishandle.

And, with his hands causing little electric currents flow through me, I felt just like that. Like I was a delicate china doll, like I could just break if Keefe wasn't as gentle as he was. Vulnerable, I realised. The word I was looking for is vulnerable.  
It was hard to identify the feeling. Maybe because I had never really felt it before. I had never let someone in so close, that they could break me if I wanted. Not Dex or Fitz, or even Biana.

And yet, Keefe was already in that place, where he could strike me down with just a single blow. I hadn't even known him for that long, and yet he had still managed to work himself into that place. _How was that even possible?_

Any thoughts running through my mind went silent as Keefe leaned down, and softly kissed my forehead. My first kiss (Did this even count as a kiss?).

It only lasted a second, but it felt like so much longer. I had never really understood this moment in books, when the protagonist gets kissed, and they say "And thought it only lasted a second, it felt like an eternity." Now, I did. In that moment, we were untouchable. We had floated away, and nothing could ever bring us back down.

Okay, well, nothing except Keefe pulling away, and pressing his forehead to mine was he breathed "Merry Christmas, Sophie."

"Merry Christmas, Keefe." I said back.

"OKAY! I think it's time for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Anyone else feel like that? Just me? Well, let's go watch it!" Grady practically screamed, looking totally freaked out.

"S-sure. That's... a good idea." I stammered, practically shaking. I couldn't quite figure out why I was feeling and acting so weird. What was Keefe doing to me?

"I'm good with that." Keefe said, and i felt a twinge of jealousy at how cool he was in this situation. No shaking. No being flustered. Not even as much as a blush. How did he do that? "I've never watched it before, so why not?" Everyone turned to Keefe with their jaw dropped. "Why are you all looking at me as if I said I had just murdered someone?" Keefe asked, referring to our shocked looks.

There was a chorus of: "You've never watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas before?!" surprising Keefe enough to take several steps back.

"No, and why is that such a big deal?"

"Well... Because it's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! How have you not seen it? What does your family do for Christmas?" Biana said.

"Oh, you know. My parents always throw this huge party filled with rich, snobby people as a PR opportunity, and forget about me. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, my mom will remember to tell me to have a Merry Christmas, right before she leaves me at home alone to go to that party." Silence followed his bitter words, no one quite knowing what to say to that.

And then finally, stressed out from the silence, I wrapped my arms around Keefe, holding him. Maybe we both had some family issues. "It's okay, Foster. I'm used to it." I noticed that he was saying the exact things I had said to him just ten minutes earlier.

So, I decided it was only fitting that I do the same. "You shouldn't have to be used to it." I heard Keefe chuckle softly.

"Hey, that's my line." He said, pulling back so he could look me in the eye.

"Well, you stole my line first." I told him.

"Call it even?" He asked, laughing slightly,

"Sure. Now, let's watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And you're going to like it, weather you want to or not." I informed him, tugging his arm over to where Dex had set up the projector.

"Yes ma'am!"

0o0o0

Somehow, I ended up falling asleep in the middle of the movie. Falling asleep in Keefe's arms.

And it terrified me that I loved the feeling of it.

 **Bye lovelies. Sleep for me now.**


	13. Detention

**And, the award for slowest updating author goes too... Elover05! Gee, what a shocker! (Note the sarcasm.) And, once again, I will apologize profusely, swear never to take this long again, only to probably take longer next time and have the cycle repeat.**

 **But, in my defense, I had a lot going on. Mainly, I got a kitten! *Gasp!* *Excited scream!* *Other noises that mean shocked excitement!* *My realization that no one really cares and i'm over reacting!***

 **Well, her name is Chocolate chip, but we call her Coco. She's only about 13 weeks at this point, and adorable! She's playful and likes to literally hide behind things and jump out at you as you walk past. She's actually sitting right next to me! Oh, and did I mention she likes to walk over keyboards?**

 **But I can rant about Coco and her adorable hazel eyes another time. So, here's the story you've waited to long for!**

"Keefe and Sophie sittin' in a tree!" Biana's sing-songy voice traveled through the otherwise silent dorm. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Please stop." I begged, pressing my forehead to my desk.

"First comes love!"

"I'm trying to study!"

"Then comes marriage!"

"Do you want me to kill you?"

"Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!"

"Do you thinks it's a girl or a boy?" Panic flared through me as soon as I realized that I had asked the question out loud. I didn't even mean to think it, much less speak it. I saw Biana grin out of the corner of my eye. "I didn't mean that! I was joking!" I cried, trying to fix the lapse in my words before Biana could tease me to death about it.

"Hmm... Oh! Maybe you'll have twins! A boy and a girl! Oh, and you could name them baby Biana and Fitz!" She almost hummed the words, obviously ectatic about the idea.

"I'm naming my kids Calla Edaline and Kenric Teirgan." I said matter-of-factly, trying to distract Biana. Though, I actually did want to name my kids that. Calla after my favorite aunt who died several years ago. Edaline after my mom. Kenric after my favorite uncle, who always knew how to cheer me up, And Teirgan after the teacher who inspired my love of psychology.

However, my plan to distract Biana... Well, it didn't work. "I dunno, Sophie. You might have to ask Keefe about that." Biana hoped on my desk as she said it, scattering my homework.

"Oh, he'll be fine with it." I said dismissively, grabbing my English homework off the floor, glaring at Biana.

I had missed the fact that Biana said I might have to ask _Keefe_ about it, as opposed to a vague 'future husband'.

Biana did not miss the fact that I agreed to it. "You didn't deny that Keefe would be the father of your kids!" She was back to using that stupid sing-songy voice.

"I... You... Just give me a break! I'm dying here!" I begged, my face buried in my hands.

Biana yanked my hands away, and shoved her face in front of mine. "Look at me!" She said, grabbing the sides of my face and directing it until my brown eyes looked into her teal ones. "Accept fate, Sophie. And your fate is to marry Keefe and live happily ever after!" Her wavy brown hair was swept into my face because of the fan I had put on my desk to keep me cool in the uncomfortably hot dorm room.

"What shampoo are you using?" I asked, whipping the hair out of my face. "Your hair is so soft!"

Biana's face lit up, and she started talking in that fast tone she used when she got excited. "Oh, Mom gave it to me for Christmas! It's got a bunch of vitamins so my hair's so soft, and it smells like coconut." She opened her mouth to continue, but paused, looking at me suspiciously. "Are you using beauty products to try and distract me?"

 _Crap. Well, there goes my plan._ I thought, defeated. "Noooooo..." I said, still denying it, though she obviously knew.

"You sneaky little liar! And I thought I could trust you. I'm just- I'm just so betrayed!" Biana fell back, clutching her chest as if mortally wounded. I shoved her off my desk, making her fall to the floor.

"Oh, go do something productive. Like, here's a random idea, clean your side of the room! It's a mess." I said, acting like I was going back to my homework. (I was actually doodling in the corner of the page.)

"It's messy, but it's clean-messy." I looked like her as if she had lost her mind, which she might of done. "Like, My makeup and clothes are sorted, and everything else may be scattered on the floor, but I know where on the floor. For example, if I was looking for my hairbrush, I know it's on the floor at the top left corner of my bed because I saw it earlier when I woke up." Biana grinned at me like she had won.

"You wouldn't survive two minutes without me, would you?" I asked, looking down at Biana laying on the floor.

She just grinned.

0o0o0

It was a few hours later when a somewhat familiar voice called "Delivery for Sophie Foster!" from outside the door. I glanced at Biana, confused. _I hadn't ordered anything...?_ But when I caught Biana's eye, she looked just as confused as I was. _So she didn't order anything under my name..._

Biana and I basically had a mental conversation with our facial expressions:

 _Biana: What did you order?_

 _Me: Nothing. Did you order something?_

 _Biana: No._

 _Me: Well then who's at the door?_

 _Biana: Answer it!_

 _Me: Why don't you answer it?_

 _Biana: The delivery was for you!_

 _Me: Ugh, fine. But if I get murdered, I'm going to kill you._

There was another knock, reminding me that I actually had to answer it. I hesitantly walked over to the door, cracking it open just enough to see who it was. What I saw was... Not what I expected. Fitz stood there, grinning as if he had just won an award. He looked accomplished. He seemed to have Dex thrown over his shoulder, struggling to get down.

"Did you order a Dex?" He asked.

"DID YOU KIDNAP DEX?" I asked, trying to figure out if I should help Dex, or laugh.

"Okay, this I got to see." Biana jumped up from her bed, and strode over to the rest of us. "Goodness, Fitz. What did you do?" She asked, sounding amused.

"I AM NOT HERE FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT! PUT ME DOWN!" Dex yelled, trying to kick Fitz in the stomach.

Fitz thought for a moment, as if he were considering Dex's demand. "Nah." He finally said, walking into our room like he owned the place.

"Oh, you are so gonna find some worms in your pillow tonight, Wonderboy." Dex growled, falling limp in Fitz arms, finally giving up hope of release.

"Oh no! Fear the wrath of Dex! He'll destroy us all!" Fitz teased.

Right at that moment, while Fitz was distracted by his joke, Dex reared his leg, and kicked Fitz in the stomach as hard as he could. Fitz let out a strangled yelp, toppling over. Dex smiled in victory, until he seemed to realize that, while he made Fitz go down, he was going down with him.

And so, that's how Dex and Fitz ended up in a heap on the floor, groaning in pain as Fitz rolled over to get off of Dex's legs. "Nice going, idiot." They both groaned at the same time, blaming each other for the catastrophe.

"Oh, I would pay to watch you guys do this stuff everyday." Biana said in between her laughter.

"Fine. But keep in mind that it costs 50 bucks an hour, and audience participation is required for the full experience." Dex said, shakily lifting himself to his feet.

"But keep in mind, snacks cost an extra 10 dollars!" Fitz added, jumping to his feet. "And if you want a plus-one, you have to pay an extra 80. That goes for you, Sophie." He said, looking at me.

"Wha- Who would I brin- Ohhh... Not you too, Fitz! I promise, Biana already teases me about Keefe more than enough for all of you combined! Today, she actually sang the stupid "Sitting in a Tree" song!" Everyone took a step back in surprise at my outburst, before Biana's shoulders started shaking with laughter.

Fitz did the same.

And then Dex followed the trend.

Soon, the three of them were clutching their stomachs, completely hysterical. Once they had calmed down enough to regain the ability of speaking proper words, I asked, "Care to let me in on the joke?" trying my hardest to remain calm.

"It's just- You're just-" Biana's attempt at conversation was cut off when she began to choke on her own laughter.

"I think what Biana is trying to say," Fitz painted through his laughter, "Is that you're really funny when you're angry."

Biana shook her head, looking horrified. "Fitz! You can't say that to Sophie!" I could see Fitz mentally review what he had said, trying to find the fault in his words that made Biana mad.

"Say what to Sophie?" He finally asked, his words hesitant, not wanting to upset her more than he already had.

"That Sophie is adorable when she gets angry! That's Keefe's line!" Biana's words spurred on another round of laughter from the peanut gallery. Which, may I add, I was not a part of. At all. Because it wasn't funny. It wasn't!

"Aww, look how mad she's getting! Is that a glare I'm seeing? How adorable!" Dex's teasing words added on to the conversation that had already been going on for much too long.

"Oh, shut up." I grumbled, stalking into the bathroom to get away from my (Very annoying) friends.

0o0o0

"Hey, Sophie, where are you going?" I grit my teeth, wishing that Fitz had never noticed. But the damage was done, as all my friends turned to look at me trying to slip out the door of my dorm.

I mumbled the answer as quietly as I could, hoping they would catch the hint I was trying to drop. Of course, they didn't.

"What did you say?" Biana asked, oblivious to my reluctance of answering the question.

"I have detention, remember?" I said, refusing to look up from the floor. "All this week, The first day is today." My face burned as I explained it to them.

"Ahh, come on! Don't be such a Grumpy Gus. Look on the bright side! Maybe Keefe will be there." Biana topped off her embarrassing words with a little wink.

"Oh, just let the girl go in peace." Dex said, coming to my rescue just when I needed him. "I think we've teased her more than enough for today. Plus, we need to keep some material for tomorrow!"

"I'm going to do you a favor and ignore that last part."

0o0o0

I was really sick of people noticing me when I was trying to slip through a door quietly.

I was walking into detention, hoping that no one would notice me. However, as soon as I stepped a foot in the room, every eye turned towards me. And, to make the entire situation worse, Mrs. Galvin said, "Sophie Foster. So glad you could join us." I wilted in the wake of her shrill, emotionless voice. "You can take a seat." At her words, I slunk to the closest seat, and sunk down in it as far as I could.

Normal colleges didn't have detention. And, technically, this wasn't detention. This was 'FINAO', standing for Failure is not an Option. It was supposed to be 'an encouragement' for us to study and not break rules. But it was really detention disguised under a fun facade.

I mean, even the teacher's called it detention.

Mrs. Galvin started ranting on about 'not breaking rules', and 'School is not a punishment', but no one was paying attention. Some people were doodling on a paper, some were passing notes, and some were on their phones under the desk. Personally, I was staring out at nothing, spacing out.

Suddenly, something hit the back of my head, jolting me back to reality. I spun around to see that Keefe had found his way to the seat behind me. "I almost forget that we were detention buddies, Foster." The smirk on his face was handsome as ever.

I looked around to make sure that no one was listening, before turning back towards Keefe. "Yeah. Because you decided to distract me. Which I'm still kinda angry about." I whispered. Keefe rolled his eyes, an almost silent chuckle slipping from his lips. "Why do you have detention anyway?"

"Remember the prank where someone put a toad in every classroom?" My eyes widened, thinking back to that week, where everyday someone would find a couple more toads hidden throughout the school.

"That way you?" Keefe leaned back in his chair, seeming impressed with himself. "You're, what, 20 and still pulling pranks?"

Keefe smirked. "Okay, first, I'm nineteen, and second, you can never get too old for a good old prank."

My mind tried to process this new information, but something didn't add up... "Wait, but you're a junior. How are you nineteen? Shouldn't you be twenty?"

Keefe leaned in, like he was about to reveal a huge secret. "It's a mystery." He whispered, a secretive smile dancing on his lips. "I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." I scoffed at his lack of a reply. Keefe sighed. "You're not gonna let me be cool and mysterious, are you?"

"Nope. Now spill." I said He just started to form a word with his (soft-looking (Not that I noticed)) lips, when Mrs. Galven decided to notice the conversation we were having.

"Mr. Sencen, Ms. Foster. Care to tell the class what you are talking about?" I wilted at the words, like a dying flower.

I tried to say something that might make things at least a bit better, but Keefe beat me too it. Well, he beat me to the saying something part. He certainly didn't beat me to the trying to make it better. "Sure! Foster and me were just talking about how fun this detention is! Or, sorry, it's not detention, it's FINAO, right?" Giggles and short whispers spread through the class quickly at Keefe's sarcastic words, but they died down just as fast when Mrs. Galven glared at them.

"Well, because you seen to think it's fun, why don't you both get an extra week of it. Consider it a... gift." She drawled the words, almost as if she was disgusted at us. But I barely paid attention. That was a whole new week that I would have to sit through detention. I never got detention! What was Keefe doing to me?

Once Mrs. Galven started lecturing again, deciding we had endured enough torture for the day, Keefe sent me a subtle wink, as if saying 'You're welcome.' And, for once, I didn't fight the smile tugging at my lips.

 **Well, hope you guys enjoyed that! Bye my lovelies!**


	14. Breakfast

**Guess who totally forgot to update here as well as on Wattpad? This dumb writer! I'm so sorry!**

"Heeeeeey, Foster!" Keefe ran over to me where I was in line to get some breakfast in the school cafeteria. I glared. "Whoa, don't look too excited." He said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"You!" Biana's voice carried through the crowded room like a knife. Like a knife aimed at Keefe. "This is your fault." She pointed her finger at Keefe, glaring. But I knew her well enough to see the smile she was holding back.

"What?! What did I do?!" Keefe asked, stepping back and holding up his hands in a sign of surrender. I sighed, ignoring the argument between my two friends as I grabbed a bagel, which is what I always ate for breakfast.

Biana turned towards me. "Sophie, will you please inform Mr. Sencen about the reason for my anger? Tell him that he got you stuck in detention for forever, which means he is depriving me of my sarcastic little nerd for forever!" I grumbled at her request as we found a spot in the corner of the crowded cafeteria.

"I'm not an owl," I muttered, not-so-subtly quoting Harry Potter.

"You're not a What Now?" Keefe asked, turning to look at me as if I had just ripped off my skin to reveal that I was really an alien lizard. (So I'm bad at metaphors. Sue me.) "An owl? What does that even mean? Do you have something you want to tell me?" Now it was my turn to look at him as if he was some sort of lizard-alien-man.

"You know, from Harry Potter." my answer was only met with an even more confused stare. "Hermione's line? "I'm not an owl."? In "The Goblet of Fire"?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Keefe was a terrible liar, clearly having no idea what I was talking about. I inspected his face, trying to figure out how he didn't know that.

Biana gasped as she stared at Keefe like he had just insulted her great ancestors. "You've never watched Harry Potter, have you?!" Keefe shook his head slowly, looking at me and Biana like we were bombs, about to explode.

As it turned out, I exploded first. "You. Me. Biana. After school at our dorm. You are watching all the movies and reading all the books if you want to or not." Keefe grinned at my matter-of-fact words.

"Do I have any say in this?" He asked. "Like, if I refuse to come, will you kidnap me?" Keefe looked from me to Biana, and then back to me.

"I won't Kidnap you. I'll… I'll borrow you against your will! Yeah, that's what I'll do." I took a bite of my bagel after I spoke, showing Keefe that this wasn't up for debate.

Biana wrapped a friendly arm around Keefe's shoulders. "I have found," Her words were slow. Deliberate. "that when Sophie puts her mind to something, there is nothing anybody can do to stop her. So, yeah, you're becoming obsessed with Harry Potter no matter what."

"Well then, we better get started as soon as we can," Keefe said, adding a wink to the end of his words.

"Texting Dex now so he can set up the projector," Biana told me, looking down at her phone as her fingers flew over the pixelated keyboard. I never understood how Biana could text so fast like it was as easy as touch typing. For me, it took forever. But then again, Biana was always texting, and I only texted once in a blue moon.

"So, just to get this straight, you're kidnapping me-"

"Borrowing!" I objected.

"Okay, fine. Borrowing me. So, you're 'borrowing' me," He used air quotes around the word borrowing, "and holding me hostage so-"

"We're not holding you hostage! We're… We're… Biana, what are we doing?" I turned to Biana, who didn't miss a beat.

"We're keeping you entertained as our very special guest." Biana and I grinned at each other, before turning back to Keefe with matching smug smiles on our face.

"Fine, fine. So, you're borrowing me and keeping me entertained as your very special guest so you can force- Don't interrupt me again, Foster!- so you can force me- not you either Biana!- so you can force me to watch the Harry Potter movies." Keefe finished, leaning back in his chair and studying the both of us with a sparkle of amusement hidden in his eyes.

Biana and I glanced at each other, before we both said, "We're not forcing you. We're encouraging you." Our voices were quiet, and moments away from laughter.

Keefe pushed us over the edge with an exasperated, overdramatic sigh that bordered on a growl. Biana was the first to start laughing, but I followed no more than a second later. "You guys are just impossible!" Keefe groaned, running a hand down his face as he spoke, probably trying to hide his slightly amused smile from Biana and Me. Needless to say, I noticed anyway.

"Oh, we know. We pride ourselves on it." Biana laughed, a and gently patted his shoulder twice as if she was comforting him. "There there. You'll be okay. And you might want to get used to it. After all, after you inevitably marry Sophie, we'll be around all the time. I'll practically be your sister-in-l- Ow!" I had just kicked Biana under the table, shooting her a glare that could melt ice.

"What Biana means to say," I said, trying to act cool and confident when my pulse was going through the roof, "is that if you want to be our friend, you should get used to it. Because we're like brother and sister. Not brother and sister-in-law. Just brother and sister." I saw Keefe smirk at me. But there was something in his eyes…

"Okay, so, what? You're my sister now?" His tone was teasing, but something about it felt off. Or maybe the off feeling came from the unwanted disappointment that hit me as soon as the words left his mouth.

Biana glanced at me. Over the years of being best friends, we learned how to read each other's facial expressions, so she knew how I felt. She even opened her mouth to say something that would probably change the subject, but my stupid mind had other ideas.

"Well, I mean, if you want us to be. We can, you know, just be brother and sister. Not that I want us to be anything more! Which doesn't mean I don't find you attractive! Not like, "I just want to throw myself on you" attractive! Just… "He has above average looks" attractive. I'm sure other girls find you "I just want to throw myself on you" attractive though! But not me because we're brother and sister. Unless you don't want us to be! Not that I want you to not want us to be! For the love of everything holy, Biana stop me! It's your job to stop me when I start to ramble like this, because it happens way to often, Well, it's not really a job, because I don't pay you, it's more like-"

Someone shook my shoulders hard, effectively making my ranting stop in surprise. "Sophie! Stop!" I looked up to see Biana looking down at me, half amused, half exasperated.

"You're worse than… than… well, than everyone on Earth! Combined!"

"I know I am! That's why it's your job to stop me!" I snapped back, playfully glaring at her.

"Okay, and as soon as you start paying me, I'll start doing my job," Biana said, holding out her hand as if expecting me to pay her with cash.

I smiled, reaching into my pocket, pulling out a slip of paper, and set it in her hand. Biana's eyes slipped down to the paper, then up to me, and down to the paper again. "Why on Earth do you have Monopoly money in your pocket?" Was the first thing she said, referring to the game money I had just slipped into her hand.

"Because." I said smugly, "This is your jacket, and I know you always cheat at Monopoly." I saw a small blush rise on her cheeks, and her mouth fell open slightly.

Biana's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she struggled to figure out what words to say. "I do not always cheat!" She finally exclaimed, but her voice was nothing more than a squeak. I snorted, making my opinion very clear. "Well, it's only because I hate that game, and want it to just end!" She groaned.

"Who needs T.V. when I have you two? It's a free show! Can someone get me some popcorn?" Keefe said, leaning back in his chair, eyes flickering between me and Biana like we were in the middle of an intense tennis match.

Biana and I looked at each other, the previous quarrel of ours forgotten, trumped by Keefe's comment. Simultaneously, we turned to stare Keefe dead in the eyes, and said, "It's 50 bucks a show." Biana held out her hand, wanting Keefe to pay up. Keefe's eyes narrowed.

"How do you do that? Say things at the same time? Do you have some special power that gives you the ability to read minds or what? Oh, if you do, you could become a superhero! I can see it in the comic books now: "The Mysterious Miss. F, and her mind-melding adventures!" Keefe was grinning ear to ear as if Christ had come early.

"What about me?" Biana gasped. "Do I not get a superpower? Am I not as important? You're dead to me." She turned up her nose and shifted so she wasn't looking at Keefe. I rolled my eyes slightly.

Keefe let out something that seemed to be a mix of a scoff and a sigh. I grinned at him. He clearly had no idea how to handle Biana. It had taken me a few years to master the art myself. "So, what. You want me to make you a superhero name too?" He asked. That was most definitely the wrong choice.

Biana loved making a scene. It was one of her core personality traits. It's the reason she wants to be an actress and/or fashion designer when she's ready to start looking for a job. She liked being the center of attention and being dramatic. Making a statement. And Keefe, well, he just gave her a bunch more material to work with.

Biana slowly turned back to look at Keefe. "I don't want your last minute apologies." She angled herself away from him as soon as the last word left her mouth. I could tell she was fighting a smile though. The corners of her mouth were ever so slightly turned up, and her eyes were lightly wrinkling around the edges.

Keefe leaned over to me, whispering "What did I do wrong?!" I smiled.

"A better question would be what did you do right," I informed him. I saw him roll his eyes at me.

"Well, I'mma give you a superhero name anyway. You should be…" Keefe trailed off, and I could almost see the gears in his brain turning. His eyes were shut, and his lips were softly parted. He scrunched his eyebrows.

I knew I needed to stop staring at him. Noticing little things, like the way his teeth bit his tongue slightly as he concentrated. Or the way his head was just barely tilted to the right. Or how he rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together in concentration.

I forced my eyes away, shifting my gaze from Keefe to Biana. I picked out an eyelash. But, luckily for me, Biana didn't seem to have noticed my staring. If she had seen, she would've given me a field day.

Despite my common sense telling me not to, I glanced over at Keefe again. He still was thinking, the tip of his tongue slightly hanging out of his mouth in concentration. It was kinda adorable.

NOT THAT I NOTICED.

OR CARED.

AT ALL.

Keefe opened his eyes, and his mouth started to form a word. "Be very careful about what you say next," I whispered to him, leaning over so Biana won't hear.

Keefe grinned. "I always am, Foster." I wasn't sure what it was about that line; It didn't imply anything, per say. But it still sent chills down my spine. Maybe it was the way he said it. All whispery, and mysterious and stuff. He was probably trying to drive me insane, wasn't he?

"Biana I-Don't-Know-Your-Middle-Name Vacker, I hereby dub you Saphire Spark." I saw Biana raise an eyebrow, the mention of a gemstone catching her attention. "You blind your enemies with sparkle or something." Suddenly, a grin crawled over Keefe's face. "Some people even say… You rock."

I snort-laughed as I bit into my bagel. I heard Biana scoff. "You did not just make a pun. And I was starting to like you. Well, this is it. It wasn't working. It's not me, it's you. I'll get the divorce papers-" I almost choked on my food. Keefe seemed to be having the same confused reaction. He was about to talk, but Biana cut him off as she continued. "I get custody of Sophie cause I've known her longer. Oh, but you can take Fitz! We'll split Dex. you get him Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Deal?"

"Now hold on a second," Keefe said, a smile tugging up the corners of his lips. "I would argue that you get both Fitz and Dex, cause Fitz is your brother, and I hardly know Dex. But that means that I get Sophie, which is only fair." Keefe said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why do I put up with you?!" I asked, laying my head on the cold table. "I could have normal friends. Ones who didn't pretend to get divorces and argue about custody about living people who are not their children. They meet up, talk a bit, make normal jokes." I grumbled.

"Now hush, Sophie dear, I know this is hard for you, but things just aren't going to work out between me and Keefe," Biana said, patting me on the back. "You'll get through this."

I sighed. "Maybe grab a bite to eat together. A normal, healthy relationship." I heard Keefe laugh, and it fought off a smile at the noise. Just because I liked making people laugh. Not because I liked him. Well, not a lot because I liked him. Maybe a little because I liked him. But not a lot!

I heard Biana sigh. "Look what you did to Sophie!" She hissed to Keefe. "You broke her! This is all your fault."

Keefe scoffed. "My fault? You are the one who brought this up around her! Look what you did! And because of that, I get full custody."

I grabbed my cup of orange juice. "You should know that I am this close to pouring this orange juice on your heads." Biana and Keefe laughed. I glared.

"See?! She's gone crazy! And It's all your fau- GAHHH!" Biana's sentence ended with her screaming as I made good on my promise, dumping my cup of juice on her head.

The stunned silence between the three of us lasted for several long seconds. Biana looked absolutely horrified. Keefe, on the other hand, looked almost proud of me.

I, myself, was shocked. What had I just done? Had I seriously just… just… poured orange juice on Biana's head? I was so going to pay for this. Big time. But the looks on Keefe and Biana's face almost made it worth it. Almost.

"Sophie. Elizabeth. Foster." Yep, I was in so much trouble. "Sophie. Elizabeth. Foster!" So, so much trouble.

"...Yes?" I asked quietly, bracing myself for the mighty wrath of Biana.

There were a few more moments of deadly silence before anyone next spoke. "So does this mean I get custody of Sophie?" Biana and I shared an incredulous look at Keefe's rather unhelpful comment before Biana handed me her still full cup of orange juice. I smiled. "What are you doing with that orange juice?" Keefe asked, watching me warily. I just grinned at him.

I could see Keefe trying to figure out what was happening, the gears in his brain turning. The realization dawned on his face, but before he could do anything, I dumped the orange juice over his head as well.

Keefe's mouth fell open, his right hand slowly reaching up to touch his now flattened hair, which was dripping with sticky orange juice. Everything around us had frozen. I wasn't sure if other people noticed what was going on, but at that moment, it didn't matter. The thing that mattered was the way Keefe was piercing me with predatory gaze sharp enough to burn holes in my head.

It was a subtle movement, so small I almost didn't notice. And when I did, it was far too late for me to do anything to prevent it. It was Keefe's left hand, the one that wasn't still clutching his soggy hair, moving forward slightly. I instinctively trailed the movement out of the corner of my eyes. My glance shifted from his hand to the cup it was approaching, trying to figure out what Keefe was about to do. When I realized, I tried to stand, tried to run. But It was way, way too late for that. Keefe moved quickly, grabbing his still full cup, and dumping it on my head. "Revenge." I let out a weird noise somewhere in the middle of a squeak and a yelp. I could feel the freezing liquid run down my scalp, dripping onto my back, and then reaching my jeans. There was absolute silence was everyone at the table looked at each other, observing out covered-in-orange-juice states. Suddenly, a laugh slipped through my lips at this ridiculous situation.

Biana followed my lead, starting to giggle at the situation, and finally, Keefe joined us, his low chuckle mixing with mine and Biana's. It wasn't funny, really. It was a mess that would take forever to clean up. We'd each have to shower about three times to get rid of the sticky liquid, and we would all defiantly need a change of clothes. But something about the whole predicament was just hilarious.

"Do we want to know?" The voice jolted the three of us out of our daze and suddenly, we were back in reality. I turned to the source of the voice, finding Fitz and Dex looking at us as if we were crazy. Which, in all honesty, we probably were.

Keefe, Biana, and I looked at each other once again. I couldn't tell if I wanted to laugh or yell or explain the situation to Dex and Fitz.

Biana opened her mouth, trying to explain our... circumstance to the dumbfounded boys, but the only thing that escaped her lips was another laugh. She slapped her hand over her mouth and another laugh shook her body, trying to keep in the hysterical giggles overpowering her.

Like dominoes, Biana fell first, which knocked Keefe down as his body began to shake with silent laughter. And Keefe falling finally pushed me over the edge, as I began to be overpowered with the amusement that I had been trying to keep at bay.

Dex and Fitz were still there, looking at us like we'd all grown an extra head, but I couldn't blame them. "What do we do?" I heard Dex mutter to Fitz.

"I think we back away very slowly, and hope they don't notice. And when we're out of earshot, I think we should call the police. Or better yet, a mental hospital." Fitz's comment did nothing to calm our laughter, only making it worse.

I struggled for air through the heavy laughter that just wouldn't quit. I wheezed as my high started to calm, my laughter becoming more and more subdued. Keefe was next, his hard laughter turning to soft chuckles, before the only noise he was making was his heavy breaths as he recovered. Biana was last, her giggles finally calming.

It was a few seconds afterward, the ones where we were all recovering from the laughing high, and Fitz and Dex were looking at us, utterly confused, but with amused eyes. Five perfect seconds, where nobody moved or said anything. Five seconds where we just sat, together. It felt like everything was okay, which was crazy. But something about it was so right. It felt like they had always been a group, Keefe included. It felt amazingly natural.

"Do we want to know what this is all about?" Dex said, breaking the silence as he motioned to our orange juice covered selves.

"Probably not," I admitted, motioning for the boys to sit in the two empty seats left at the table.

Dex and Fitz sat, still looking at us curiously, trying to work out why we were completely soaked in juice. It was really fun, watching their confused expressions as they tried, and failed, to work out the story. When I looked over at Biana and Keefe, they shared my bemused look.

"Oh, by the way, Keefe is coming over to our dorm tonight. We need the projector because apparently, Keefe has been living in an awful world where he hasn't watched or read Harry Potter, so we're forcing him to watch all the movies and read all the books." Biana said, taking the final bite of her scrambled eggs.

"Whoa, wait. What do you mean Keefe has been living in a world without Harry Potter?" Dex asked, turning to look at Keefe, the expression of pity on his face.

Fitz had the same look on his face, staring at Keefe. "What? So I haven't watched or read Harry Potter. It's not like that makes me a horrible person who kicks puppies!" He groaned, taking the final bite of his bagel. Biana, Dex, Fitz, and I shared a look. "Oh, come on." Keefe scoffed. "If I had any bagel left I'd throw it at you!" He remarked as I stifled a laugh.

"We're not getting into another food fight. I'm already going to have to wash my hair so much to get this orange juice out, I don't need to worry about cream cheese and scrambled eggs too!" Biana said. "Speaking of, if I want to get to my class on time, I'm gonna need to take a shower now. See you losers later!" She cried, turning and walking quickly out of the cafeteria.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. If Biana took a shower, it would leave me with cold water when I tried to clean the juice from myself. "Hey, I'm gonna steal your shower," I grumbled to Dex and Fitz. They nodded as I got up.

"See ya, Foster," Keefe said. "I better shower too, because someone had the idea to dump orange juice on my head." He winked at the last words, a smirk hiding in the corners of his lips.

I grinned at him, unashamed. " I have no regrets," I informed him, before pivoting on my heels and walking towards the boys' dorm. I hated using other people's showers, but I suppose it was better than a freezing cold one after Biana was finished.

"You should!" I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder, looking to where Keefe stood, still watching me with his stupid grin plastered on his face. I couldn't help but smile to myself as he saluted towards me, before walking away.


	15. Idk what to call this one go easy on me

"Heeeeeey, Foster!" Keefe ran over to me where I was in line to get some breakfast in the school cafeteria. I glared. "Whoa, don't look too excited." He said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"You!" Biana's voice carried through the crowded room like a knife. Like a knife aimed at Keefe. "This is your fault." She pointed her finger at Keefe, glaring. But I knew her well enough to see the smile she was holding back.

"What?! What did I do?!" Keefe asked, stepping back and holding up his hands in a sign of surrender. I sighed, ignoring the argument between my two friends as I grabbed a bagel, which is what I always ate for breakfast.

Biana turned towards me. "Sophie, will you please inform Mr. Sencen about the reason for my anger? Tell him that he got you stuck in detention for forever, which means he is depriving me of my sarcastic little nerd for forever!" I grumbled at her request as we found a spot in the corner of the crowded cafeteria.

"I'm not an owl," I muttered, not-so-subtly quoting Harry Potter.

"You're not a What Now?" Keefe asked, turning to look at me as if I had just ripped off my skin to reveal that I was really an alien lizard. (So I'm bad at metaphors. Sue me.) "An owl? What does that even mean? Do you have something you want to tell me?" Now it was my turn to look at him as if he was some sort of lizard-alien-man.

"You know, from Harry Potter." my answer was only met with an even more confused stare. "Hermione's line? "I'm not an owl."? In "The Goblet of Fire"?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Keefe was a terrible liar, clearly having no idea what I was talking about. I inspected his face, trying to figure out how he didn't know that.

Biana gasped as she stared at Keefe like he had just insulted her great ancestors. "You've never watched Harry Potter, have you?!" Keefe shook his head slowly, looking at me and Biana like we were bombs, about to explode.

As it turned out, I exploded first. "You. Me. Biana. After school at our dorm. You are watching all the movies and reading all the books if you want to or not." Keefe grinned at my matter-of-fact words.

"Do I have any say in this?" He asked. "Like, if I refuse to come, will you kidnap me?" Keefe looked from me to Biana, and then back to me.

"I won't Kidnap you. I'll… I'll borrow you against your will! Yeah, that's what I'll do." I took a bite of my bagel after I spoke, showing Keefe that this wasn't up for debate.

Biana wrapped a friendly arm around Keefe's shoulders. "I have found," Her words were slow. Deliberate. "that when Sophie puts her mind to something, there is nothing anybody can do to stop her. So, yeah, you're becoming obsessed with Harry Potter no matter what."

"Well then, we better get started as soon as we can," Keefe said, adding a wink to the end of his words.

"Texting Dex now so he can set up the projector," Biana told me, looking down at her phone as her fingers flew over the pixelated keyboard. I never understood how Biana could text so fast like it was as easy as touch typing. For me, it took forever. But then again, Biana was always texting, and I only texted once in a blue moon.

"So, just to get this straight, you're kidnapping me-"

"Borrowing!" I objected.

"Okay, fine. Borrowing me. So, you're 'borrowing' me," He used air quotes around the word borrowing, "and holding me hostage so-"

"We're not holding you hostage! We're… We're… Biana, what are we doing?" I turned to Biana, who didn't miss a beat.

"We're keeping you entertained as our very special guest." Biana and I grinned at each other, before turning back to Keefe with matching smug smiles on our face.

"Fine, fine. So, you're borrowing me and keeping me entertained as your very special guest so you can force- Don't interrupt me again, Foster!- so you can force me- not you either Biana!- so you can force me to watch the Harry Potter movies." Keefe finished, leaning back in his chair and studying the both of us with a sparkle of amusement hidden in his eyes.

Biana and I glanced at each other, before we both said, "We're not forcing you. We're encouraging you." Our voices were quiet, and moments away from laughter.

Keefe pushed us over the edge with an exasperated, overdramatic sigh that bordered on a growl. Biana was the first to start laughing, but I followed no more than a second later. "You guys are just impossible!" Keefe groaned, running a hand down his face as he spoke, probably trying to hide his slightly amused smile from Biana and Me. Needless to say, I noticed anyway.

"Oh, we know. We pride ourselves on it." Biana laughed, a and gently patted his shoulder twice as if she was comforting him. "There there. You'll be okay. And you might want to get used to it. After all, after you inevitably marry Sophie, we'll be around all the time. I'll practically be your sister-in-l- Ow!" I had just kicked Biana under the table, shooting her a glare that could melt ice.

"What Biana means to say," I said, trying to act cool and confident when my pulse was going through the roof, "is that if you want to be our friend, you should get used to it. Because we're like brother and sister. Not brother and sister-in-law. Just brother and sister." I saw Keefe smirk at me. But there was something in his eyes…

"Okay, so, what? You're my sister now?" His tone was teasing, but something about it felt off. Or maybe the off feeling came from the unwanted disappointment that hit me as soon as the words left his mouth.

Biana glanced at me. Over the years of being best friends, we learned how to read each other's facial expressions, so she knew how I felt. She even opened her mouth to say something that would probably change the subject, but my stupid mind had other ideas.

"Well, I mean, if you want us to be. We can, you know, just be brother and sister. Not that I want us to be anything more! Which doesn't mean I don't find you attractive! Not like, "I just want to throw myself on you" attractive! Just… "He has above average looks" attractive. I'm sure other girls find you "I just want to throw myself on you" attractive though! But not me because we're brother and sister. Unless you don't want us to be! Not that I want you to not want us to be! For the love of everything holy, Biana stop me! It's your job to stop me when I start to ramble like this, because it happens way to often, Well, it's not really a job, because I don't pay you, it's more like-"

Someone shook my shoulders hard, effectively making my ranting stop in surprise. "Sophie! Stop!" I looked up to see Biana looking down at me, half amused, half exasperated.

"You're worse than… than… well, than everyone on Earth! Combined!"

"I know I am! That's why it's your job to stop me!" I snapped back, playfully glaring at her.

"Okay, and as soon as you start paying me, I'll start doing my job," Biana said, holding out her hand as if expecting me to pay her with cash.

I smiled, reaching into my pocket, pulling out a slip of paper, and set it in her hand. Biana's eyes slipped down to the paper, then up to me, and down to the paper again. "Why on Earth do you have Monopoly money in your pocket?" Was the first thing she said, referring to the game money I had just slipped into her hand.

"Because." I said smugly, "This is your jacket, and I know you always cheat at Monopoly." I saw a small blush rise on her cheeks, and her mouth fell open slightly.

Biana's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she struggled to figure out what words to say. "I do not always cheat!" She finally exclaimed, but her voice was nothing more than a squeak. I snorted, making my opinion very clear. "Well, it's only because I hate that game, and want it to just end!" She groaned.

"Who needs T.V. when I have you two? It's a free show! Can someone get me some popcorn?" Keefe said, leaning back in his chair, eyes flickering between me and Biana like we were in the middle of an intense tennis match.

Biana and I looked at each other, the previous quarrel of ours forgotten, trumped by Keefe's comment. Simultaneously, we turned to stare Keefe dead in the eyes, and said, "It's 50 bucks a show." Biana held out her hand, wanting Keefe to pay up. Keefe's eyes narrowed.

"How do you do that? Say things at the same time? Do you have some special power that gives you the ability to read minds or what? Oh, if you do, you could become a superhero! I can see it in the comic books now: "The Mysterious Miss. F, and her mind-melding adventures!" Keefe was grinning ear to ear as if Christ had come early.

"What about me?" Biana gasped. "Do I not get a superpower? Am I not as important? You're dead to me." She turned up her nose and shifted so she wasn't looking at Keefe. I rolled my eyes slightly.

Keefe let out something that seemed to be a mix of a scoff and a sigh. I grinned at him. He clearly had no idea how to handle Biana. It had taken me a few years to master the art myself. "So, what. You want me to make you a superhero name too?" He asked. That was most definitely the wrong choice.

Biana loved making a scene. It was one of her core personality traits. It's the reason she wants to be an actress and/or fashion designer when she's ready to start looking for a job. She liked being the center of attention and being dramatic. Making a statement. And Keefe, well, he just gave her a bunch more material to work with.

Biana slowly turned back to look at Keefe. "I don't want your last minute apologies." She angled herself away from him as soon as the last word left her mouth. I could tell she was fighting a smile though. The corners of her mouth were ever so slightly turned up, and her eyes were lightly wrinkling around the edges.

Keefe leaned over to me, whispering "What did I do wrong?!" I smiled.

"A better question would be what did you do right," I informed him. I saw him roll his eyes at me.

"Well, I'mma give you a superhero name anyway. You should be…" Keefe trailed off, and I could almost see the gears in his brain turning. His eyes were shut, and his lips were softly parted. He scrunched his eyebrows.

I knew I needed to stop staring at him. Noticing little things, like the way his teeth bit his tongue slightly as he concentrated. Or the way his head was just barely tilted to the right. Or how he rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together in concentration.

I forced my eyes away, shifting my gaze from Keefe to Biana. I picked out an eyelash. But, luckily for me, Biana didn't seem to have noticed my staring. If she had seen, she would've given me a field day.

Despite my common sense telling me not to, I glanced over at Keefe again. He still was thinking, the tip of his tongue slightly hanging out of his mouth in concentration. It was kinda adorable.

NOT THAT I NOTICED.

OR CARED.

AT ALL.

Keefe opened his eyes, and his mouth started to form a word. "Be very careful about what you say next," I whispered to him, leaning over so Biana won't hear.

Keefe grinned. "I always am, Foster." I wasn't sure what it was about that line; It didn't imply anything, per say. But it still sent chills down my spine. Maybe it was the way he said it. All whispery, and mysterious and stuff. He was probably trying to drive me insane, wasn't he?

"Biana I-Don't-Know-Your-Middle-Name Vacker, I hereby dub you Saphire Spark." I saw Biana raise an eyebrow, the mention of a gemstone catching her attention. "You blind your enemies with sparkle or something." Suddenly, a grin crawled over Keefe's face. "Some people even say… You rock."

I snort-laughed as I bit into my bagel. I heard Biana scoff. "You did not just make a pun. And I was starting to like you. Well, this is it. It wasn't working. It's not me, it's you. I'll get the divorce papers-" I almost choked on my food. Keefe seemed to be having the same confused reaction. He was about to talk, but Biana cut him off as she continued. "I get custody of Sophie cause I've known her longer. Oh, but you can take Fitz! We'll split Dex. you get him Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Deal?"

"Now hold on a second," Keefe said, a smile tugging up the corners of his lips. "I would argue that you get both Fitz and Dex, cause Fitz is your brother, and I hardly know Dex. But that means that I get Sophie, which is only fair." Keefe said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why do I put up with you?!" I asked, laying my head on the cold table. "I could have normal friends. Ones who didn't pretend to get divorces and argue about custody about living people who are not their children. They meet up, talk a bit, make normal jokes." I grumbled.

"Now hush, Sophie dear, I know this is hard for you, but things just aren't going to work out between me and Keefe," Biana said, patting me on the back. "You'll get through this."

I sighed. "Maybe grab a bite to eat together. A normal, healthy relationship." I heard Keefe laugh, and it fought off a smile at the noise. Just because I liked making people laugh. Not because I liked him. Well, not a lot because I liked him. Maybe a little because I liked him. But not a lot!

I heard Biana sigh. "Look what you did to Sophie!" She hissed to Keefe. "You broke her! This is all your fault."

Keefe scoffed. "My fault? You are the one who brought this up around her! Look what you did! And because of that, I get full custody."

I grabbed my cup of orange juice. "You should know that I am this close to pouring this orange juice on your heads." Biana and Keefe laughed. I glared.

"See?! She's gone crazy! And It's all your fau- GAHHH!" Biana's sentence ended with her screaming as I made good on my promise, dumping my cup of juice on her head.

The stunned silence between the three of us lasted for several long seconds. Biana looked absolutely horrified. Keefe, on the other hand, looked almost proud of me.

I, myself, was shocked. What had I just done? Had I seriously just… just… poured orange juice on Biana's head? I was so going to pay for this. Big time. But the looks on Keefe and Biana's face almost made it worth it. Almost.

"Sophie. Elizabeth. Foster." Yep, I was in so much trouble. "Sophie. Elizabeth. Foster!" So, so much trouble.

"...Yes?" I asked quietly, bracing myself for the mighty wrath of Biana.

There were a few more moments of deadly silence before anyone next spoke. "So does this mean I get custody of Sophie?" Biana and I shared an incredulous look at Keefe's rather unhelpful comment before Biana handed me her still full cup of orange juice. I smiled. "What are you doing with that orange juice?" Keefe asked, watching me warily. I just grinned at him.

I could see Keefe trying to figure out what was happening, the gears in his brain turning. The realization dawned on his face, but before he could do anything, I dumped the orange juice over his head as well.

Keefe's mouth fell open, his right hand slowly reaching up to touch his now flattened hair, which was dripping with sticky orange juice. Everything around us had frozen. I wasn't sure if other people noticed what was going on, but at that moment, it didn't matter. The thing that mattered was the way Keefe was piercing me with predatory gaze sharp enough to burn holes in my head.

It was a subtle movement, so small I almost didn't notice. And when I did, it was far too late for me to do anything to prevent it. It was Keefe's left hand, the one that wasn't still clutching his soggy hair, moving forward slightly. I instinctively trailed the movement out of the corner of my eyes. My glance shifted from his hand to the cup it was approaching, trying to figure out what Keefe was about to do. When I realized, I tried to stand, tried to run. But It was way, way too late for that. Keefe moved quickly, grabbing his still full cup, and dumping it on my head. "Revenge." I let out a weird noise somewhere in the middle of a squeak and a yelp. I could feel the freezing liquid run down my scalp, dripping onto my back, and then reaching my jeans. There was absolute silence was everyone at the table looked at each other, observing out covered-in-orange-juice states. Suddenly, a laugh slipped through my lips at this ridiculous situation.

Biana followed my lead, starting to giggle at the situation, and finally, Keefe joined us, his low chuckle mixing with mine and Biana's. It wasn't funny, really. It was a mess that would take forever to clean up. We'd each have to shower about three times to get rid of the sticky liquid, and we would all defiantly need a change of clothes. But something about the whole predicament was just hilarious.

"Do we want to know?" The voice jolted the three of us out of our daze and suddenly, we were back in reality. I turned to the source of the voice, finding Fitz and Dex looking at us as if we were crazy. Which, in all honesty, we probably were.

Keefe, Biana, and I looked at each other once again. I couldn't tell if I wanted to laugh or yell or explain the situation to Dex and Fitz.

Biana opened her mouth, trying to explain our... circumstance to the dumbfounded boys, but the only thing that escaped her lips was another laugh. She slapped her hand over her mouth and another laugh shook her body, trying to keep in the hysterical giggles overpowering her.

Like dominoes, Biana fell first, which knocked Keefe down as his body began to shake with silent laughter. And Keefe falling finally pushed me over the edge, as I began to be overpowered with the amusement that I had been trying to keep at bay.

Dex and Fitz were still there, looking at us like we'd all grown an extra head, but I couldn't blame them. "What do we do?" I heard Dex mutter to Fitz.

"I think we back away very slowly, and hope they don't notice. And when we're out of earshot, I think we should call the police. Or better yet, a mental hospital." Fitz's comment did nothing to calm our laughter, only making it worse.

I struggled for air through the heavy laughter that just wouldn't quit. I wheezed as my high started to calm, my laughter becoming more and more subdued. Keefe was next, his hard laughter turning to soft chuckles, before the only noise he was making was his heavy breaths as he recovered. Biana was last, her giggles finally calming.

It was a few seconds afterward, the ones where we were all recovering from the laughing high, and Fitz and Dex were looking at us, utterly confused, but with amused eyes. Five perfect seconds, where nobody moved or said anything. Five seconds where we just sat, together. It felt like everything was okay, which was crazy. But something about it was so right. It felt like they had always been a group, Keefe included. It felt amazingly natural.

"Do we want to know what this is all about?" Dex said, breaking the silence as he motioned to our orange juice covered selves.

"Probably not," I admitted, motioning for the boys to sit in the two empty seats left at the table.

Dex and Fitz sat, still looking at us curiously, trying to work out why we were completely soaked in juice. It was really fun, watching their confused expressions as they tried, and failed, to work out the story. When I looked over at Biana and Keefe, they shared my bemused look.

"Oh, by the way, Keefe is coming over to our dorm tonight. We need the projector because apparently, Keefe has been living in an awful world where he hasn't watched or read Harry Potter, so we're forcing him to watch all the movies and read all the books." Biana said, taking the final bite of her scrambled eggs.

"Whoa, wait. What do you mean Keefe has been living in a world without Harry Potter?" Dex asked, turning to look at Keefe, the expression of pity on his face.

Fitz had the same look on his face, staring at Keefe. "What? So I haven't watched or read Harry Potter. It's not like that makes me a horrible person who kicks puppies!" He groaned, taking the final bite of his bagel. Biana, Dex, Fitz, and I shared a look. "Oh, come on." Keefe scoffed. "If I had any bagel left I'd throw it at you!" He remarked as I stifled a laugh.

"We're not getting into another food fight. I'm already going to have to wash my hair so much to get this orange juice out, I don't need to worry about cream cheese and scrambled eggs too!" Biana said. "Speaking of, if I want to get to my class on time, I'm gonna need to take a shower now. See you losers later!" She cried, turning and walking quickly out of the cafeteria.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. If Biana took a shower, it would leave me with cold water when I tried to clean the juice from myself. "Hey, I'm gonna steal your shower," I grumbled to Dex and Fitz. They nodded as I got up.

"See ya, Foster," Keefe said. "I better shower too, because someone had the idea to dump orange juice on my head." He winked at the last words, a smirk hiding in the corners of his lips.

I grinned at him, unashamed. " I have no regrets," I informed him, before pivoting on my heels and walking towards the boys' dorm. I hated using other people's showers, but I suppose it was better than a freezing cold one after Biana was finished.

"You should!" I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder, looking to where Keefe stood, still watching me with his stupid grin plastered on his face. I couldn't help but smile to myself as he saluted towards me, before walking away.


	16. Chamber of Secrets

**Hey! I'm so sorry it took my so long to update; My laptop was broken for a while, so I couldn't write much. Therefor, this chapter was a bit rushed, and not my best. However, I'm really excited for next chapter, so that one should be really good. Plus, this website glitched, or I messed up, cause I thought I posted this chapter a while ago, but apparently not. Sorry! But that does mean that you get two updates in one day. Yay?**

 **Another thing, I talk about the Pottermore quizzes quite a bit in this chapter. However, I didn't put in everyone's quiz results, because I couldn't find a way to slip it in. So, just in case you're curious, here are the results I got for each of the characters (I tried to take the tests for them, but I'm not them, so the results are not official or final or whatever):**

 **Dex was sorted into Ravenclaw, his wand is Willow wood with a Unicorn hair core 13 ¾" and Slightly Yielding flexibility,** **his Ilvermorny house is Pukwudgie, and his patronus is a Ragdoll Cat.**

 **Biana was sorted into Hufflepuff, her wand is Hawthorn wood with a Unicorn hair core 9 ¾" and Unbending flexibility, her Ilvermorny house is Pukwudgie, and her patronus is a Fox Terrier.**

 **Sophie was sorted into Gryffindor, her wand is Yew wood with a Unicorn hair core 10" and Reasonably Supple flexibility, her Ilvermorny house is Horned Serpent, and her patronus is a Grey Squirrel.**

 **I couldn't do Fitz because Gmail was being annoying and wouldn't let me create another account, so I'll tell you what he got later. Keefe's results are included in the chapter.**

 **And, if you want to know me, I got Ravenclaw, my wand is Sycamore wood with a Phoenix feather core 14 ½" and Unyielding flexibility, my Ilvermorny house is Pukwudgie, and my patronus is a Dapple Grey Mare. Tell me what your quiz results were in the comments! Or, if you haven't taken the Pottermore quizzes, here's a link to the website:** .com **(yeah, the link doesn't work if you click on it, because that doesn't work for some annoying reasons. sorry!)**

 **So now let's get to the chapter!**

"No freakin' way! Quirrell? _Quirrell_ is the evil one? I was sure it was Snape." I had been reading the first book to Keefe, as he draped dramatically over the couch. We were constantly taking breaks to eat. We had already finished the Pizza's, and were halfway through the cookies.

"I know! It shocked me too!" I said, gently closing the book. "We finished book one pretty quickly. It only took, what, 4 hours?" I glanced at my watch to confirm my estimate." But keep in mind we've got 10 more books, and nine movies. We're in this for the long game."

"There's 11 books and nine movies? That's a lot of story." He mumbled through a bite of a cookie. I chuckled.

"Yup. And mark my words, Sencen. By the end of this month, you will have seen it all. You'd better be ready." At my words, Keefe let out an amused laugh. Despite my better judgement, i stole a glance at him.

Suddenly, Biana plopped down between the two of us. "Alright, I'm all for your cute flirting, but let's try to keep this PG. Save it for when I'm awake, so I can tease Sophie about it with my energy intact." I hit her with a pillow.

"Okay, on to 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!" I shouted, holding the second book up. Yes, I was trying to change the subject, but, in my defence, it worked. I gently opened the book. It was me who was reading them aloud, despite the way my voice was starting to crack from all the talking. I didn't mind. Watching Keefe absorb the words, completely entranced by the book, was more than worth it. "Alright, let's do this thing!

"''Chapter One, The Worst Birthday.' Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast...'"

0o0o0

I was maybe two thirds of the way through The Chamber of Secrets when I demanded we take a break, so my voice could recover. Biana had abandoned us in search of sleep half-an-hour ago, so we could no longer trade off every chapter to preserve our voices.

While waiting for my throat to stop feeling so raw (I was going to have no voice tomorrow.), Keefe started playing with Pottermore. His Hogwarts house, as we both predicted, was Slytherin. He had a White Stallion patronus, despite that face that he hasn't gotten to that part of Harry Potter. Walnut wood with a Unicorn hair core 12 ¼" and Supple flexibility was his wand. Finally, his Ilvermorny house was Pukwudgie.

I sighed, leaning back on the pillows we had set up as a sort of makeshift couch. It was about four in the morning, and my eyelids were fluttering, despite my attempts to keep awake.

I hadn't even realised I fell asleep until I woke the next morning, or noon, really. I groaned, my throat aching from the absurd amount of speaking I had done last night. Glancing around, I found that somehow, I was in the comfort of my own bed, a blanket thrown over me. After a few minutes of lying there, I propped myself up on my elbows, looking around my still dark room.

Keefe was gone, presumably leaving after I had fallen asleep. Our little pillow fort was still laying on the floor, and Biana's bed was empty. She must have left in the early hours of morning.

On my nightstand was a cup of water, which I gladly downed, searching for some comfort for my throbbing throat.

Sitting up, I couldn't stop the yawn escaping my lips, stretching my arms above my head as I did so. I stood, heading to the light switch. My eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden light as I leaned against the wall. Once I could see normally again, I saw a note taped to the door.

"Headed over to the boys so I wouldn't wake you. You will tell my all the juicy romance that went down between you and Lover Boy last night. -B" Despite my insistence that Keefe and I were purely platonic, I couldn't help but laugh at Biana's nickname for him. She was going to be so disappointed to learn there were no declarations of love in her absence.

0o0o0

"Look, it's sleeping beauty? Sleep well?" Biana cooed as I opened the door. "Have dreams plagued by ice-blue eyes and messy blonde hair?" My eyes rolled at her last question.

"Biana, it is too early for your crap." My voice bordered on a growl as I glared at her. She laughed.

Dex came out of the kitchenette with a plate of eggs. "Hungry?" He asked, not waiting for an answer before handing the food to me.

Grinning, I took the plate. "You know me so well."

After I finished my breakfast (Or is it lunch?), I asked, "Where's Fitz?"

"Math class. Apparently, Mr. Heatherton moved the times from three o'clock to eleven. And yet, Fitz still insisted on attending. He is such a Wonderboy." I wrinkled my nose at the thought of such an early class. I do accept that eleven isn't actually that early, but it sure feels like it sometimes.

"Hey, this is my brother we're talking about!" Biana interjected. "You can do better than that! You're supposed to be the best at insulting him." Dex and I chuckled.

"Cut me some slack! It's Saturday, my break day. I'll be back to my wonderful insulting self tomorrow." Dex defended.

Giggling, Biana responded "I look forward to it." Suddenly, she turned to me, eyes shining. "Wait, I forgot to ask what romance-y fluff went down with you and Lover Boy last night after I went to bed? I need deets!" Shoot. I thought I was going to get away without talking about that.

I glanced to Dex, giving him a look, silently asking for help. In return, he gave my a powerless and apologetic glance. "I just read to him for a bit longer. He took all the Pottermore quizzes too. He was sorted into Slytherin, no surprise there." My goal was to distract her with his quiz results. Thankfully, it worked.

Dex lit up at the mention of Slytherin. "Yes! We need a Slytherin in our group. It's the only house we don't have!"

Biana nodded along, smiling. "What about the other stuff? Wand, Patronus, Ilvermorny house?" She asked. I smiled, relieved for the subject to be on Harry Potter instead of my lack of romantic drama.

"Walnut wood with a Unicorn hair core, 12 ¼", and supple flexibility for the wand," I began, "White Stallion patronus, of which I am very jealous, and Pukwudgie for Ilvermorny house."

Dex paused, mouth falling open. "Wait, he got a White Stallion for his patronus? Lucky!" I knew Dex was happy with his Ragdoll cat patronus, but Keefe definitely won in terms of coolness with his.

"So, is Keefe coming over tonight too? Or are you meeting up somewhere else to shove him down the Harry Potter rabbit hole?" I paused at Biana's question. We hadn't discussed that.

"I'm not sure. I'll text him later to ask." I said. "But I think he took The Chamber of Secrets, so he can read that alone."

After that, the conversation fizzled out. We sat in silence, enjoying the company we provided. Biana had begun to play some game on her phone, Dex was idly playing Mario Kart, and I was skimming through a book Fitz left on the coffee table. "Oh, come on!" Dex shouted suddenly, pulling my attention over to him. He was blue-shelled right before the finish line in his game, and it caused him to come in third instead of first.

His devastated face drew a laugh from me. "Mind if I joined?" I asked, grabbing the spare controller and putting the book down. Dex didn't respond, still too bitter about his loss to do anything other than shrug.

"Oh, I'm joining too! Prepare to get your butts kicked, amateurs." Biana quipped, snatching the third remote.

I snorted. "You wish, princess. When _I_ win, you're all gonna be sorry." Choosing Toadette, my usual character. "Now how about y'all stop stalling and start playing."

 **I know it's short and rushed, but I hope next chapter will make up for it.**

 **And one last time, because I can't say it enough, thank you for 100 followers. I love y'all.**

 **Bye my lovelies! 3**


	17. Mario Kart

Hi my Lovelies! **I really love this chapter, it might be my favorite one yet! I would probably talk more, but it's really late (Or early, depending how you choose to look at it,) so let's just get to the story already!**

"Two hours. I leave for _TWO HOURS_ AND YOU LOT TURN INTO A PACK OF WILD ANIMALS!" Fitz had just walked into the dorm, where Dex, Biana and I were screaming, jumping, and aggressively racing in Mario Kart.

"NO- STUPID, STUPID... WHO BLUE-SHELLED ME?" I shouted, completely ignoring the confused and somewhat amused Fitz. "BIANA! NO!" It was halfway through the last lap on Rainbow Road, and the three of us were neck and neck. Biana had just passed me, taking first place.0

Biana simply laughed at my dismay, smugly winking at me. "Something wrong, Sophie? I mean, other than the fact that I'm a whole lot better than you."

Scoffing, Fitz continued into the room. "Untamed animals, the lot of you." he huffed, setting his backpack by the door. If we weren't all so fixated on Mario Kart, someone would have made fun of him. As it was, we were a tad bit preoccupied. "Can't you just behave like civilized humans? Just for a little while? I'm a good person, I do the right thing when I can. Don't I deserve that much?" I made a mental note to throw something at him once the game was over.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I repeated the mantra as I began to jump, desperate to win against my best friends. We always brought out the competitive side on one another.

"Let's face it girls, you two should just give up now. In a few seconds, I'm gonna cross that black and white checkered line, and you two will officially be demolished." Dex said, getting too cocky for his own good. "Wait, wait, no nO NO WHAT THE HECK NO STOP WHA- HOW?!" Dex's words came out rushed, not forming any kind of coherent sentence.

An NPC farther back in the race had just thrown a blue shell, as we were so, utterly close to the finish line. The blast knocked the three of us, and while the explosion rendered us immobile, another NPC raced ahead of us, finishing the race in first place.

The shocking development was met with a few seconds of silence, before we all turned into rabid beasts, absolutely livid at the unexpected outcome.

None of us were particularly large or strong, but the amount of rage that can be hidden within three smaller, geeky teens is honestly astounding. Fitz might of categorized us as wild animals before, but that was nothing compared to us now.

Biana let out a pterodactyl screech as she literally collapsed unto the floor, her movements so violent and sudden that she was almost thrashing like a toddler. Dex, on the other hand, had resorted to screaming colorful insults at the Television screen, the phrases he was using so barbaric and furious the neighbors must've thought he was in the middle of a heated fist fight with someone who murdered his father.

My reaction was more subdued. Not because I wasn't filled with rage, mind you, but more because I wasn't an expert at expressing anger. So I simply sat on the couch, as if I was completely void of life and emotion

"Oh, great! You guys are finished. Now we can..." Fitz trailed off, seeing how unhinged we all were. "Alright, well I'm going to go call a mental hospital, because you guys all seem, how do I put this polity, completely insane." Biana promptly tackled him in her anger. "Oof. Talking was the wrong decision. I see that now."

Yes, I know, we were all being very melodramatic, but that was just how we were.

"How. Did. None. Of. Us. Win?" Biana punctuated each word with a slam of her hand onto the carpet, still piled on top of her brother. "How. Did. We. All. Loose?!"

After groaning, attempting to roll out of his sisters hold, Fitz said, "Why am I getting punished for this?"

"The T.V. is too expensive to destroy, so Imma mess you up instead. That's okay, right?" Biana asked, beginning to loose some of her energy and sagging slightly against Fitz.

"Of course it isn't." Fitz grumbled in response, finally managing to wriggle out of her grip, and regaining his composure. "What happened exactly."

For the first time since The Incident™, as I have dubbed it, I spoke. "Stupid NPC threw a stupid blue shell that got us all, and then stupid NPC ran in front of us and won the stupid race." Fitz let out a chuckle, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, is this funny to you?" Biana demanded.

"Uh, yeah. I thought I had made that clear with my laughter." He quipped in response to the outraged Biana.

And, once again, everyone lost their mind. Biana and I ganged up on Fitz, who was still laughing. Dex, meanwhile, hadn't stopped lashing out at the T.V., despite that fact that it was, y'know, and inanimate object. Honestly, I was surprised the neighbors hadn't complained yet. We must be the most annoying people to live around.

My phone began to buzz from the coffee table, and I broke away from the riot to see who was calling me. I clicked the power button to find Keefe's contact picture, a goofy selfie he had stolen my phone to take, staring back at me. I debated picking up for a few seconds, wondering if he would find the background screaming concerning, but I eventually relented and took the call. He was Keefe, after all. He liked crazy, right?

"Hey, Keefe, do me a favor and ignore the screaming in the background." I was met with silence on the other line for a few seconds.

"I... where are you? And why does it sound like someone is being brutally murdered?" He finally asked, ignoring my request.

"Don't worry about- Gah! Biana, what the heck! Is that your shoe?" I broke away from the phone call to address my best friend, who had just chucked a shoe violently at my head.

"Whoops, I was aiming for Fitz. Sorry." She didn't sound to apologetic, but then again, I wouldn't either if I was in her shoes (Pun not intended. Could that even be classified as a pun? Whatever. Y'all know what I mean). Rough-housing was a constant for us, so it was nothing out of the usual.

"I am so utterly confused right now. Why is Biana throwing shoes at you?" Keefe's voice through my phone speaker reminded me that he was there.

Being careful to keep an eye on my environment from now on, I brought my attention back to my phone call. "It's a rather long stor- BIANA! What the heck!" Her second shoe had just flew into my shoulder.

Biana just shrugged, saying something about having 'Bad aim' before trying to find other weapons now that she was out of shoes. I couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

Once again, I returned to my phone. "I... I feel like I should be worried about this situation." Keefe finally spoke, sounding like he was struggling to find the right words to say. I couldn't exactly blame him.

"Biana, Dex and I are mad cause we all lost at Mario Kart. Biana keeps trying to throw shoes at Fitz, and keeps hitting me instead!" I raised my voice at the end so Biana could hear the frustration in my voice.

"Why is Biana harassing Fitz just because you all suck at Mario Kart?" Despite the fact that Keefe couldn't see me, I still clutched my chest, putting an offended expression on my face. "I can almost hear your outrage through the phone."

I laughed, being sure to muffle it so Keefe wouldn't hear. I didn't want him getting cocky. "You know me so well."

There was shuffling on Keefe's line, before he returned. "I do, I really do." This time, I didn't bother trying to hide my chuckle. What can I say? Keefe can be really funny.

"Oh, hey, did you take The Chamber of Secrets when you left last night?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer. Couldn't hurt to double check, I guess.

More shuffling on his side, before he responded. "Uh, yeah. Should I not of? I wasn't sure, but I didn't want to leave on a cliffhanger. I can bring it back if you want." He sounded sheepish, like a child being scolded for doing something wrong.

"No, no! I just wanted to make sure you had it, and it didn't just magically disappear. But it's fine. I'm glad you're getting into it! I knew you had a Harry Potter fanboy in you, just waiting to come alive."

"Welp, it's alive and thriving. I'm really glad you kidnapped me last night." The eyeroll was instinctive for me at that point.

"For the last time, Sencen. I did not _kidnap_ you, I simply _borrowed_ you." I huffed out, letting exasperation fill my tone.

Keefe laughed softly, and the butterflies in my stomach fluttered around a bit before settling down again. "My mistake. I'm really glad you _borrowed_ me last night." I smiled, satisfied. "Ya happy?"

"Yes, thank you." I responded, grinning.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, you're cute when you sleep." Immediately I flushed red, the butterflies in my stomach morphing into scorpions.

"Well that's not stalkerish at all." I mumbled, both surprised and grateful that I was sane enough to form words.

I heard his laugh, before he continued poking fun at me. "Did you know you snore?"

I didn't think I could blush any more than I was. Apparently, I was wrong. "I... what? No I don't!" I defended weakly, feeling humiliated at the concept of Keefe seeing me _snoring_.

"Keep telling yourself that, Foster." Keefe hummed softly. "You also cuddle." He added as an afterthought.

Oh no. Oh no. I was no longer humiliated, instead jumping to mortified. _I did not try to cuddle with_ Keefe Sencen _while I was asleep. No. I refuse to accept it._ "You okay over there? I didn't kill you with embarrassment, did I? That would be a shame. I didn't say I minded it."

AHSLDKFJ;EKRKNDF;ADFKGJANRETOIQHELRSNDF;JADHFWES (Don't ask how I actually managed to think that. Cause honestly, I don't know either.)

"Nope, still alive." I chuckled, trying to retain any piece of me that was still managing to function properly. "Just a bit mortified. That's all. Excuse me while I get into a rocket and fly myself into the sun." I wasn't sure how I was still able to make jokes in my mental state, but I wasn't going to complain. Maybe I wouldn't seem like a crushing girl.

"Aww, don't be like that. If you died, who's gonna read the rest of Harry Potter to me?" That earned a laugh.

Sighing, I relented. "Fine. But as soon as that's over, I'm finding a rocket."

"Yes ma'am." Keefe giggled in a sing-song voice.

I almost expected my stomach to explode from dinosaurs currently thrashing inside me. Or maybe my heart with the disgusting fluffy feeling it was floating in.

I was so doomed.

Alright, that's it for now! My eyes are very mad at me, so I'ma get some sleep. Bye my Lovelies!


	18. SoKeefe Wedding )

**Hi, my Lovelies! Wow, how quick did I update this time? What was it, only nine days? I might be wrong on that, but still! That was a record, I think! But I seem to do a lot of writing while procrastinating school. Which I guess isn't a good thing. But still. Yay?**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Again, not much Keefe, but there's a lot of talking about him if it makes up for it! The next chapter should have Keefe again, but one thing I do want to focus on in this fic is Sophie's other friendships, specifically her and Biana. Partly because of how fun it is to write Biana's drama.**

 **P.S. Sorry for the confusion, I had to reupload this chappie because Fanfic glitched!**

 **So go read the chapter and tell me what you think!**

"... _a classic style that's all her own, smile you can hear through the telephone. She says she's a rebel, but she's way too sentimental. She's precious even when she's mad, Gets angry and I start to laugh_..." The blaring music jars me as I walk into my dorm, stumbling slightly in surprise. Biana had texted me five minutes prior, saying to come to our room immediately.

"You're here! Finally!" Biana practically had to shout to be heard over the music. "Good news; I found You and Keefe's wedding song!" I closed the door behind me as I walked into the room. Biana's phone seemed to be the source of the music.

I pressed my hand over the speaker of her iPhone, attempting to stop, or at least muffle the noise. "Our neighbors are so going to complain about this, and when they inevitably do, I will not hesitate to throw you under the bus," I said, but there was no real danger behind my words.

Yet, Biana still pouted, her lower lip slightly jutting out. "But Sooooooooophie!" She said, dragging my name out for far longer than necessary. "Do you enjoy taking the fun out of everything?"

After considering for a moment, I responded, "I enjoy watching you pout, yes." Biana glared daggers.

"Well, you're just mean," Biana grumbled, scrunching her face slightly in displeasure.

Finally, the song ended, and I could remove my hand from her phone, without having to worry about broken eardrums or complaining students. Biana snatched it as soon as I let go, shoving it in her pocket so I could no longer touch it.  
I tried resisting, but my curiosity got the better of me, as always, and I asked, "Not that I really care, but what song did you pick? Again, only asking out of curiosity. Do not get any ideas!"  
Despite my insistence that I was simply investigating, Biana grinned. "Crazy Beautiful by Andy Grammer. It's so perfect for SoKeefe! I mean, it's like the song was written for you! It's not my normal style in music, but it's still amazing for the two of you."  
"SoKeefe? What exactly is SoKeefe?" Biana lit up, and I immediately regretted asking. It was too late to take it back though.  
"Oh, you haven't heard?" Biana's smile was maniacal as she spoke, her voice all sickly-sweet and sing-songy. "That, my dear Sophie, is what your ship name has been dubbed. Isn't it grand? Just picture," She stepped beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder and another in the air, gesturing at whatever imagery she was imagining. "A SoKeefe wedding."  
Scoffing, I gently shoved her away. "I'm sixteen! You want me to get married at sixteen?!" Biana paused, seeming to consider.  
"No, your right. You should wait until at least twenty. That way, you can have four whole years of adorable, fluffy dating that I can relentlessly tease you about! Now wouldn't that just be perfect?" I groaned, face-palming.  
There seemed to be nothing in the world that could sedate Biana and her need to tease and/or ship me with Keefe Sencen. It was insane, really. I wouldn't be surprised if I walked into our dorm one of these days to discover she had set up an actual wedding. "Are you done trying to make my life miserable?" I asked.  
Biana, pouted, letting out a huff of air as she spoke. "I'm not trying to make your life miserable, I'm trying to make it glorious. You and Keefe could be glorious. You're the one making your own life miserable by living in denial and refusing to date Keefe, despite it being the best thing you could possibly do." I sighed. In a way, maybe she wasn't wrong. Not that I was going to start confessing my undying love for Keefe, though. "But fine, I'll stop trying to make you accept fate. For now. I'll be back at it with new ideas soon though!" I had no doubt about that.  
"Great! Well, I talked to Keefe- Hey! You just said no more teasing for now, so shut it!" I interrupted myself when she opened her mouth, a familiar gleam in her teal eyes. Huffing, she closed her mouth, allowing me to continue. "Well, he's coming over tomorrow evening to continue his Harry Potter marathon, so we're gonna have to prepare for that. I knew he would fall down the rabbit hole!"  
At the mention of this, Biana smiled again, and I had no doubt she had already begun planning a way to try and get us together, but in all honesty, I didn't really care.  
"I really wish I hadn't agreed to stop making fun of you now. I have so many ideas! You two are just... Ugh!" Biana threw her hands in the air. "You're just too cute. It's not fair. I just want to squeeze the two of you together! Why are you making it so hard for me to do that? Waiting for you two to accept your feeling is the worst kind of torture imaginable. You know that, right? You and Keefe being this deep in denial is literal torture." I laughed at Biana's anguish. She always had been the dramatic type. It gave her a certain unique kind of charm.  
At my fond smile but otherwise lack of response, Biana grumbled, realizing that was all she was going to get out of me at the moment. "I'll water you down one of these days, and you'll see the truth. Just you wait, Sophie. It'll happen. You're powerless to stop it."  
"Oh, gee. I'm trembling in my shoes. Please take pity on me." I deadpanned in response, smirking as she scowled.

 **0o0o0**

"Sophie, why is Biana asking if I own a tuxedo that would classify as proper attire for a wedding?" Of all the things I might have been expecting Fitz to say when I picked up my ringing phone, that was definitely not on the list.

"I'm sorry, _what?_ " I asked, my pen pausing on the paper of my essay about Pompeii for English class.

"Biana just asked me if I own a tuxedo that would classify as proper attire for a wedding."

I paused for a second, confused. "I heard you, I just- What? Do you know... _why?_ " I leaned back in my chair, momentarily forgetting about my homework. Biana was supposed to be in the library studying for a history test.

"I assume for a wedding? She said there was a wedding tomorrow and that we should all come to your dorm in the evening dressed in a formal tuxedo that would classify as-"

"-as proper wedding attire, yes, you've said." I cut him off. What was Biana doing? "The tomorrow evening at our dorm? But isn't that when Keefe is coming- _ohhhhh._ " _Was Biana seriously trying to set up a wedding for Me and Keefe?_

After I stayed silent for several more seconds, Fitz spoke up. "I feel like you figured out what is going on, but you're not telling me and I'm severely confused. Can you explain what is happening?" I pondered my next words carefully. I was not in the mood for more rants about _Reasons Why it is a Bad Idea for Sophie Foster to Date Keefe Sencen_ talk. It seems to get longer every time I have it.

"I think," I began, my voice amused despite my annoyance, "Biana is trying to make a wedding for Me and Keefe tomorrow. Without telling either of us." Fitz was silent for several moments before I could hear his quiet chuckling. "This is not funny!"

Fitz's laughter only increased in volume. "Then why are you laughing too?" It took me a second to realize he was right, that I was, in fact, giggling a bit.

"Oh, shut up. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to call Biana and ask about this supposed 'SoKeefe Wedding' she appears to be planning without my consent. I'll talk to you later." My finger was hovering over the hang-up button when I heard Fitz speak again.

I put the phone back to my ear in time to hear, "Wait, _SoKeefe?_ What exactly is a _SoKeefe?_ " Realizing Fitz wasn't going to let this go until I explained, I groaned. Biana would have to wait.

"Apparently, that's Me and Keefe's ship-name, whatever that means. Biana was talking earlier about a 'SoKeefe Wedding', so in hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go yell Biana's ears off for her latest scheme."

Fitz and I said our goodbyes, Fitz still laughing from this whole situation. As soon as the call was over, I typed Biana's number into the screen, waiting as the phone rang, once, twice, three times, before she picked up. "Hello?" she said into the screen, sounding devious even through the speaker.

"What's this I hear about quote un-quote _"tuxedos that would classify as proper attire for a wedding"?"_ I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Biana hummed- Actually hummed- through the receiver. "What about it?" She asked.

"Seriously? _Seriously?_ You're going to play the innocent card right now? _That's_ how you want to do this?" I could hear Biana move on the other line.

"If I play the innocent card long enough, will I be able to weasel my way out of this reprimanding?" Biana asked.

I couldn't help but laugh at the question we both knew that answer too. "Ha! Not a chance, sister. You're cute for trying though." Biana wined but sounded resigned to her fate. "Now, where shall we start? The wedding without consent? Dragging Dex and Fitz into this whole ordeal? Or the ship name? You can choose." While speaking, I headed over towards my bed, lying down in a comfortable position. _This was going to take a while._

 **Well, what did you think? I liked it, even though it was a bit of a filler. Thank's for reading, and leave a comment! I'll try and keep updating this quick, but no promises! (Sorry!) Well, have a good day, and as always, bye my Lovelies!**


	19. Adorable Werewolf

Balloons. Balloons everywhere.

Biana was so going to regret being born. She was currently in a laughing fit on the floor, practically choking on air, desperately trying to even out her erratic breathing. "I did- didn't order… ord- order this- these- all of… balloons." I could only catch snippets of her words, her state of hysteria making her sentence all choppy. "One… one-thou- thousand ba… I didn't… This wasn't- not planned. I… balloons were- I messed up."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed. You know why? BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING BECAUSE THERE ARE BALLOONS EVERYWHERE!" Screaming at Biana was probably not the right choice, because it only pushed her into a deeper state of laughter. It didn't help that one particular balloon kept hitting me on the face. "What were you thinking? Why did you do this?!"

Propping herself up, Biana took several seconds to compose herself. "Well, I didn't exactly _plan_ for this to happen. It was a mistake. Oops."

" _Oops? OOPS?_ How do you ' _accidentally'_ order _one-THOUSAND_ balloons embroidered with _Sophie + Keefe = SoKeefe Forever_? How could that possibly be an accident?!" Biana almost began giggling again, before catching herself.

"It was a prank!" Biana cried- literally cried, as there were tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks. "I meant to order ten! I meant… There was only supposed to be ten…" Her voice fell to a whisper, and she sounded totally awe-struck. "This is a lot more than ten…"

"Well golly gee, I hadn't noticed." I spat. "We can't even move around the room? What are we going to do with these?" My voice softened at the end, and I sank down next to Biana. For a mere second, I let myself enjoy the utter absurdity of this situation. If I wasn't so panicked, It would actually be quite funny. As it were…

I felt Biana shift next to me, and I glanced over at her, looking as she pulled out her phone. Curiously, I leaned over her shoulder, trying to figure out what she was doing. When she opened her camera, I rolled my eyes. There were a few clicks, which meant she was taking pictures. Great. This moment was going to be immortalized forever. "One-thousand balloons." She murmured, and I barked out a laugh.

"One-thousand balloons." I agreed.

"Did you see the look on the delivery woman's face?" Biana asked, angling her body to face me.

I nodded, ducking my head at the memory.

 _Three solid knocks grabbed my attention, causing me to look at the door. My first thought was that Biana had locked herself out again, so I wasn't too concerned by the unexpected intrusion. My second thought was it might have been Keefe coming early for out Harry Potter session, which made me a bit anxious as my room, while not inherently messy, was not a clean as it would have been in an ideal world._

 _Looking back, I wish more than anything that it would have been Keefe._

 _Because when I opened the door, I was met by an unfamiliar face of a middle-aged woman, holding a huge handful of balloons. "Delivery for Biana Vacker?" I narrowed my eyes. There appeared to be about 50-ish balloons, and I wouldn't put it above Biana to pull a prank. Her next words were what startled me. "The rest are coming up, but they wouldn't all fit in the elevator. Can I get a signature?"_

" _Oh, I'm not… Biana's my roommate… Can I ask, uh, exactly how many balloons Biana ordered?" I shifted of my feet, worried at what my excentric best friend might have done._

 _The woman glanced down at the clipboard in her hand, eyes scanning before responding. "One-thousand balloons." I froze. "Is there a problem?" The woman asked, observing my horrified state._

" _Are- are you sure it's_ one-thousand _?" I said after finding my voice. The woman nodded, eying me apprehensively. "Sorry, can I have a second? I need to call Biana." Delivery Woman nodded as I pulled my phone out of my pocket._

 _I didn't yell at Biana over the phone, as Delivery Woman was watching me, and I didn't want to sound like a crazed lunatic. I simply told Biana to get here immediately._

 _By this point, three other people had come to the door, each holding bunches of balloons. Biana arrived within the minute, pausing when she noticed the sheer abundance of balloons. She had a conversation with Delivery Woman, looking heavily confused as she asked to see the paperwork. I saw her eyes widen, one of her tell-tale signs of regret. She hastily signed the paperwork, and turned to me. "I- I can explain."_

 _I didn't say anything, just fixed her with a glare. "This wasn't supposed to happen." She tried again, frustrated at my lack of response. It didn't help that a fifth person had arrived, holding yet another bundle of balloons._

 _Still silent I began taking the balloons and putting them in the corner of our apartment. Biana followed my lead, still trying to reason with me, but all her apologies fell on deaf ears._

 _Thirty minutes. That's how long it took to fill the dorm with balloons. Thirty excruciating minutes of embarrassment under the judgemental gazes of delivery people. Thirty terrible minutes of trying my hardest no to unleash all my rage on Biana in front of an audience._

And now, here we are. How do I manage to get myself into these situations? Or rather, how does Biana manage to get me into these situations?

"What happens now?" Biana asked, placing her phone on the ground.

I took a deep breath, glancing over at her. "Now, I figure out how to violently murder you and make it look like an accident."

When Biana laughed, I looked over at her, fixing her with a glare I saved for special occasions. "You know Keefe is coming over in ten minutes. What are we going to do?"

All jokes aside, I was beginning to have an actual panic attack. Biana noticed, and started rubbing my back. "Breath, Sophie. It'll be fine. Keefe will understand, and I'll take full blame. He's a funny guy, he won't freak out. We can tell him not to come over if we need to." I managed to calm my breathing, Biana's words helping me.

"Alright, we'll be okay." I didn't believe the words completely, but I tried to put my fears to rest. Biana was right.

Of course, any calm I might have salvaged floated away when I heard a knock at the door. _Oh no, He was here._ "If you need me to tell him to go away, I will, okay?" Biana said, still trying to sooth me. I shook my head.

"It's okay. This is okay. Can you get the door?" Biana hurried to do as I asked, cracking the door, but not letting Keefe see into the room. I stood, coming behind Biana, still out of Keefe's line of sight.

"Everything okay? Why do I feel like you're hiding something in this room? You didn't murder anyone, did ya'?" I managed a shaky laugh.

Biana took a moment, thinking her response over in her head. "Before you come in, I want to let you know that this was an accident, and one-hundred percent my fault. Sophie is having a panic attack, so if you react in a negative way and set her off, I will skin you alive." Keefe chuckled.

"Just let him in, Biana." I groaned, hiding my head in my hands as I backed up into the wall, nearly tripping over a balloon in the process. Without a word, Biana opened the door, letting Keefe see the monstrosity in our room.

I could hear him freeze, his footsteps coming to a halt. "So… This might be a bit of a personal question… but why exactly… is your dorm… filled with, what, 500 balloons?" Biana was about to reply when Keefe noticed the worst part. "Sorry, are these… _wedding balloons?_ For… Me and… Sophie?" I groaned, banging my head back against the wall.

"Well, it's 1,000 balloons. No, this was not intentional. You see-" Biana began to explain, before Keefe interrupted.

"How do you… _accidently_ … fill a dorm room… with _1,000_ wedding balloons?"

"I'm getting to it! So, uh, I was teasing Sophie again, about a wedding between you and her, because it's obvious you guys are endgame." I growled. "And uh, I jokingly planned a wedding. Not really, of course, just as a joke. But, part of the joke was me ordering a few balloons. Just as a prank."

"This is a lot more than ten balloons." Keefe remarked, stepping further into the room, repeatedly getting hit in the face by the balloons of horror.

Biana gasped sarcastically. "Really? We hadn't noticed. Anyway, uh, I messed up the order. I meant to get ten, just to have fun. They'd be easy to get rid of. But, I, Uh… Well, there was a typo in the order. And now… We have 1,000 wedding balloons."

At the few seconds of silence, I peeked through my fingers, watching Keefe slowly spin the a circle, awestruck as he surveyed the chaos. "I… wow." I could hear the laughter in his tone, even as he tried to suppress it. "This is… something else."

"Once again, I take full responsibility for this." Biana added.

I was still peeking through my fingers, and Keefe turned to face me, seeing my distressed reaction. He frowned, before turning around, and grabbing a balloon. I cautiously lowered my hands, curious at what he was doing.

He had put the balloon to his mouth, and for a second, I was trying to figure out if he was _kissing_ it, but then I saw it deflate a bit. He turned around, pinching a spot. "I feel like we could take advantage of this situation." Keefe said, his voice much higher than normal. I realized then that he had inhaled the helium. I smiled. Or course that was his reaction to this situation. "I mean, we got the balloons, might as well use 'em."

"You're such an idiot." I mumbled, trying to fight the grin on my face.

"She speaks!" His voice, while still higher than normal, was getting lower. "I was worried you'd forgotten how."

"Shut up." I growled playfully.

He handed me a balloon of my own. "Not until I get to hear you sounding like a chipmunk!" His voice was back to normal now, holding mirth as he smirked at me.

I realized what he was doing now; he was trying (and succeeding) to make me smile and laugh and become less mortified. My heart fluttered a bit at the realization. I glanced at Biana, who was grinning like a fool, one hand clutched to her chest as she watched us intently.

I took the ballon, biting softly at the rubber to make a small hole, and then breathing in the helium. "There. I'm a chipmunk. Happy?" Even I could hear how ridiculous I sounded, and Keefe doubled over in laughter.

"You are the cutest chipmunk I have ever seen." At his words, I blushed. (Obviously).

"You're not too bad yours- Biana! Are you filming us?" Biana immediately dropped her phone, putting a faux innocent expression on her face.

"No! What would give you that idea?" At my dead stare, she sighed. "Fine. Fine! I was filming you. But seriously, you guys are just… So cute. It's not even fair anymore." Biana sighed, tilting her head the same way she did when she looked at adorable animals.

Keefe laughed, and at my glare, simply shrugged. "Hey, she's not wrong!" He defended, still giggling.

My jaw fell open. "Seriously? You're taking her side on this?" I was decidedly ignoring the fact the Keefe Sencen had just agreed that we, as a couple, together, were cute.

"Come on, Foster. You're adorable! Especially when you have a chipmunk voice." I tried my best to glare at him, but alas, I was never good at looking threatening. "Aww, when you glare you scrunch up your nose and now you look like even more of an adorable chipmunk!" As he spoke, he playfully tapped my (admittedly scrunched up) nose (His finder lingered and brushed against my cheek as he lowered it, but I totally didn't notice). "Isn't she just adorable, Biana?"

Biana clutched her hand to her chest, looking bemused. "The most adorable chipmunk in the entire chipmunk forest."

"I… I can't deal with this. You're teaming up. That's not fair! You should not be able to form teams in this 'See who can Torment Sophie the Most' game."

"Aww, is Foster getting upset? She's even adorable doing that!"

"SHUDDUP." I didn't know I was even capable of speaking in a pure, almost animalistic growl until I said that.

"Hey, I think she's transforming into a wolf or something. Maybe she's a werewolf! Just picture it: 'Adorable Cinnamon-roll Chipmunk by day, Still Adorable Wolf by Night!'" Keefe and Biana both laughed at his statement.

"Now I feel like that would be an awesome comic book." Biana was clapping her hands as she spoke, words coming out a bit faster than normal in her excitement.

I made a mental note then to Google 'How to murder a friend and make it look like an accident' later. That information could prove very useful should Biana and Keefe continue their teasing. "Why do I get the brunt of all the teasing? Shouldn't Biana at least get some. Because, she, y'know, _ordered one thousand balloons without even realising it?_ "

"Well, Biana's not as cute when she gets all flustered and scrunches up her nose and tries to be scary." Keefe said, ignoring Biana's insulted "Hey!". "When Biana tries to be scary, you should fear for your life. You one the other hand… Are an adorable Werewolf."

A laugh threatened to bubble up from my throat, but I hid it by face palming. "Is the 'Adorable Werewolf' thing gonna stick?" I asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

Though my hands were still covering my face, I could see their grins perfectly in my mind. "Oh, Honey," Biana cooed, "you will never be rid of it." If I had more energy, I would've been able to come up with a witty comeback.

"I'm gonna come up with a clever reply for that later, okay? I'm to tired right now. From all the balloons you ordered."

Biana laughed. "Maybe I can get more balloons with 'Adorable Werewolf' written on them! Keefe, what do'ya-"

"BIANA CARYA VACKER, IF YOU SO MUCH AS THINK ABOUT ORDERING _MORE_ BALLOONS I WILL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!"

"See? Such an Adorable Werewolf." I didn't have it in my to yell at Keefe anymore, so I just signed, resigned to the fate of my new nickname.

"When I have more energy, I will get you back for that."

They only laughed. "Okay Adorable Werewolf. I'll be waiting."


	20. Sophie has pizza and locks Biana up

**Behold! After six months of not updating, I come back with a (far to short) filler chapter! *gasp*!**

 **For real though, I'm so sorry for not updating for half a year! Things have just been crazy, I traveled to Michigan, I'm working so hard on school, I have a doctor appointment about twice every week, my sleep schedule is so dead I'm thinking about holding a funeral for it, and... ugh.**

 **I'm pretty sure that at this point, the only reason I write these author's notes is to complain. Whatever**

 **Oh, and guess what? I've fallen into another fandom! On accident this time! So... Yay...? I have too many fandoms.**

 **The fandom is Overwatch, if anyone is wondering. I never thought I would join a video game fandom, and yet... here we are.**

 **But I've also started writing fanfiction for this one. I;m probably gonna post it on here, but I'm not really sure if anyone will read it so... Whatever, I'm gonna post it. Check it out if you want, but it might not make sense if you don't know the Overwatch lore. Mostly it's about Sombra cause I freaking love her so so so so sos so sos so sos soso sosos os much. Tell me if you guys would be interested in reading it, or if you guys know the fandom! I love chatting with you!**

 **Oh, and I think I'm gonna try and get an Ao3, if anyone want's to go check stuff out over there. It might be a while for me to get an account, because apparently you have to get an invite (?) but I'll tell you guys when it's up if you want to check me out. I'll have the same username, Elover05. There's not gonna be anything special over there but... whatever. If you prefer that site or whatever, you can follow me on there instead when I get everything up and running :).**

 **Anyway, I think that's it for this authors note. Sorry for complaining so much. It's just who I am. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ But without further ado, onto the story!**

There was a stunned silence, as Fitz, Dex, and I sat in our dorm. Pizza and nail polish sat long forgotten on the coffee table, as I finished sharing the story that I had dubbed the 'Balloon incident of 2018'

Fitz was the first to speak, but his words were shaky. I couldn't tell if it was from disbelief, or if he was just holding back laughter. "You're... joking." I rolled my eyes instead of answering, but that seemed to be enough to settle the question. "W-... I ju... bu-...w- was... Why?" Now he was definitely laughing.

"Ask your devil of a sister! It was her fault! I mean, come on," I lamented, grabbing another slice of pizza (that I may or may not have stolen from Biana. She deserved it.) "How does she manage to still throw me for a loop?" Fitz shook his head and shrugged, fondly.

"Do you... Did you take pictures? Please tell me you took pictures!" Dex said, and threw a napkin at him. (It didn't hit him, but whatever.)

"Shut up you dolt!"

"Okayyyy, but _didddd_ you?" Defeated, I pulled out my phone and opened the gallery, showing them the pictures Biana had taken.

Dex snatched the phone, gawking at the photos, lips parted slightly in shock. "You weren't kidding..." He mumbled. Fitz reached over and nabbed the phone from his friends hands, having the same exact reaction to the evidence: Shock and amusement.

"Okay, okay, I get it, my life is a disaster. Can I have my phone back and go wallow in my misery for a minute?" Fitz giggled and tossed the device back to me, him and Dex grinning like the idiots they were.

Dex began to speak, probably saying something to embarrass me even more, but luckily (or maybe unluckily) Biana slammed the door open, and stormed her way into the room, fire in her eyes and fury in her walk. "YOU! YOU LITTLE... ASDHONFLE;SUDJKFVAESDF"

I stared for a second. "How... How did you make that sound with your mouth?"

A tiny smile slipped through Biana's anger, but she shoved it away and replaced it with her (probably fake) anger. "DO. NOT. CHANGE. THE. SUBJECT!" Dex and Fitz shared a look, faces scrunched, holding laughter back desperately. "YOU CANNOT JUST LOCK ME IN THE BATHROOM!" Grabbing the pizza out of my hand, she sat down next to me with a sense of doom that let me know how much trouble I was in.

"Well, I know that, I really do, and I mean no disrespect, honest, but the thing is, with all respect, I sorta, well, I sorta already _did_." I giggled, "I mean, you really deserve it."

An offended gasp slipped through Biana's lips, "What could I have possibly done to deserve GETTING LOCKED IN THE BATHROOM FOR TWENTY MINUTES?!"

"The Great Balloon Incident of 2018." I replied.

"Wha- You're still mad about that? It was months ago!"

"I will never forgive you."

Biana pouted, slouching into the pillows and screwed up her face in a way that I'm sure was supposed to be angry, but instead looked like a chipmunk.

"I mean, in Sophie's defence, you did order one-thousand balloons. Speaking off, how much money did that even cost you?" Fitz questioned, grabbing his last slice of pizza.

Silence, and then a slight, unintelligible mumbling coming from Biana. "What?"

"Itwasaboutonehundreddollars." Biana's words were so rushed, it took me a few moments to work my way through them and figure out what she had said.

When I finally understood, I shot to my feet, choking on a bite of my food. "ONE _HUNDRED_ _ **DOLLARS?**!_" I screamed so loud my throat hurt. There was a thump on the wall coming from our neighbors, reminding us to keep the volume down. "One hundred dollars?!" I repeated, quieter this time.

"Well it wasn't exactly a part of the plan! Ten balloons would have only costed a couple of bucks!"

That was it. I've lost my faith in humankind. How did we live to become the alpha species on Earth when we're all such idiots? How? "And you didn't notice that instead of only a few dollars, you were spending ONE HUNDRED?" Biana shrugged, shrinking so far into the couch cushions it looked like she was being devoured.

Dex and Fitz both had their faces buried in their palms, looking just as baffled and disappointed as I was. "Fitz, how did you survive living with her for 15 years?"

"I didn't. I'm dead inside right now, as I have been since her conception." I tried to smother my laugh, but I was always a terrible actress, so it came out anyway.

On instinct, Fitz and I both ducked, already knowing Biana would be throwing something at us for making fun of her. Surely enough, as soon as I had leaned over, an empty pizza box flew over my head, brushing past my hair. "You two are terrible!" Biana hissed.

"Aww, you love us." She didn't reply to that question, but smiled fondly nonetheless.

"Every day I spend you you people, my sanity slips away just a little bit more." Dex laughed, shaking his head in exasperated amusement at our antics. In response, Fitz leaned over and pulled him into one of those Bro Hugs™ and ruffled his strawberry blonde locks affectionately. Everyone else rolled their eyes.

In Dex's defense, he wasn't exactly wrong. We tended to rob people of their sanity. It's what we were made to do, so don't go blaming us for it.

 **0o0o0**

(A/N: Apparently you guys have decided that these time skips are actually someone yodeling and i just want to let you know how much I love that.)

"Hey! A.W.!" I groaned, turning back to face Keefe. His extensive armory of nicknames for me was ever growing. The newest one was A.W., standing for Adorable Werewolf. I honestly can't believe that stuck. Or that I was starting to miss 'Foster'.

Looking back, I could see him jogging towards me, trying to catch up, despite being at the other end of the crowded hallway. Sighing, I waited. "Hello to you too, Keefe."

"Geez, don't look too excited to see me. I mean, I get I'm exceptionally handsome and aweso-" I shoved his shoulder, cutting off his stream of egotistical words. "Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Despite myself, I grinned. "There she is!" Keefe proclaimed upon seeing my smile.

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" Keefe giggled at my words.

"Don't pretend you don't love it, Foster."

"I don't."

"Ouch. You're a ruthless one." Despite me being so quote unquote 'ruthless' he kept walking besides me, stupid glowing grin still on his lips. (Because it was stupid. Not pretty at all. Ever. Just stupid lips that looked almost kissable and- I'm gonna stop before I manage to dig myself even deeper into this hole.)

Wrenching my eyes away from his lips which I had been staring at for far to long, I instead switched to making eye contact. That didn't help, mind you, because his eyes were pretty stupid too. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice the way I looked at him.

His voice startled me back to reality. "So, what have you been up too, Foster? Any more balloon shenanigans you're hiding from me?" I groaned. _Why would no one let that die?_

"There will never be any more balloon incidents if I can help it."

"Well, some things just might be out of your control, Little Lady." Ah, yes. 'Little Lady', yet another one of my many, many horrible nicknames. All of the gifted to me by the mischief maker himself.

I had arrived at my class, so I bid goodbye to the bane of my existence and walk in. It was only halfway through the period when I understood what Keefe had said. _'Some things might be out of your control'_. Huh. That was ominous. I should probably be worried about that, shouldn't I?

Oh well. Whatever Keefe is planning, it couldn't be that bad. Right? Right?

(Spoiler alert: it was definitely going to be that bad)

 **I have no idea where I'm going with this... eh, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Bye my Lovelies!**


	21. Horse Weddings and Road Trips

***Dances into the room flinging confetti everywhere***

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME**

 ***Does a summer salt***

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME**

 ***Pops one of those party popper things***

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MEEEEEEEE**

 ***Shovels Mallowment aggressively into my mouth***

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!**

 ***Jazz hands***

 **Enjoy this chapter as my reverse birthday gift.**

"We're moving to Australia."

"I'll get the passports and fake IDs. I assume we'll both need to create a separate identity?" Biana said, not even looking up from her book.

Collapsing on her bed so my head was in her lap, I nodded. "I think I want to be named Eleanor Valdez."

Still completely focused on her reading, she said "Nice to meet you, Eleanor Valdez, I'm Mara Blackwood. Will this move require a drastic change in appearance, or can we just change our hair and call it good?"

"Nothing too big. I think I'd look good as a redhead, don't you? Kinda like a Weasley." I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger, trying to imagine how it'd look.

Biana finally looked up from her book, face lighting up at the idea of a makeover. "You would look amazing as a redhead! Oh, and we could cut your hair, maybe just above your shoulder so it frames your face... The contrast would be wonderful! Red is truly your colour, it would bring out the gold in your eyes... Yes! Oh, I'm so excited! When are we moving?" Her hands were running through my hair as she spoke, her tone getting progressively more enthusiastic as she went on.

One of the many things I love about Biana is her blind loyalty. I could call her at 3:00 A.M., tell her I've killed somebody, and she would bring a body bag and ask no questions.

"As soon as you can get those fake IDs."

She hummed thoughtfully, still stroking my hair. "That'll take a few days. In the meantime, you wanna tell me what's really going on?"

I thought about that for a minute, before responding, "No, not really."

"You can't just run away from your feelings, Cariño."

"You're really milking those Spanish lessons for all you can get, huh?"

"Okay," Biana huffed, "first of all, I want to learn more about my culture! Second, don't change the subject here."

Sighing, I closed my eyes, still sprawled on the bed with my head in her lap, Biana's fingers soothingly stroking my hair. "But it's easier to just... move to Australia, adopt a new name, and leave all my feelings here. I don't know how to deal with emotions. So I'm not going to. Problem solved, we all can live happily ever after and skip off into the rainbow."

I couldn't tell if the sound Biana made was a chuckle or a coo as she responded, "Oh, honey, but what happens when you find a guy in Australia and fall in love again? Would we run away to Mexico this time?"

"I never said this was about Keefe."

"You're just that obvious when talking about your crushes."

"Am not." I mumbled.

"Are too."

"I'mma fight you behind an abandoned Wendy's, you know that?"

"Looking forward to it. But you can't run away from your feelings forever, you know!"

"Watch me!"

 **0o0o0**

It is the middle of the night. We have school tomorrow. So one would think that everyone would be asleep.

But alas, one would be wrong, as evidenced by the insistant knocking at my door.

What idiot was knocking on my door at 2:32 A.M.?

"Foster? Biana? You two alive in there?"

Oh. It was my idiot.

Rising from my soft, warm, beautiful bed was quite possibly the hardest thing ever. But if I didn't get up, Keefe would probably be knocking all night long, and that situation would just be bad for everyone. So, with great difficulty, I managed to stand and walk over to the door, dragging my blanket along with me.

Yanking open the door harder that I knew I could, I came face to face with a sheepish Keefe Sencen. "You better have a good reason for waking me up on a school night, Keefe."

"I do, I promi- I'm sorry, is that a blue elephant in a Hawaiian t-shirt? Or am I hallucinating?" I glanced down, realising that in my rush, I still had Ella clutched in my hands.

Not sure what to say, I avoided eye contact, cheeks burning. "...Maybe." Keefe cocked his head, a small smile on his lips. "Did you come here for a reason, or are you just here to make fun of Ella?"

He began to reply, but was cut off by his own giggle. "'Ella'? You named your blue elephant in a Hawaiian t-shirt 'Ella'? Glaring at him, I closed the door on his face. That ought to teach him to make fun of me while I'm sleepy. "Wait, no, I'm sorry! I love your blue elephant in a Hawaiian shirt!"

I cracked the door, peeking through the small gap. "See, I named her Ella so people wouldn't have to say 'Blue elephant in a Hawaiian t-shirt'!"

"My apologies. I love Ella."

I smiled, opening the door a little wider. "See, that's much easier." Keefe grinned. "So, what do you want?"

He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Well, see, I uhh... sorta told my sister... that I had a girlfriend, and, uh... spoiler: I don't. So, she... er... she invited me to a horse wedding and told me to bring my girlfriend... but the problem is... I don't... have a girlfriend. So I need you to be my fake girlfriend and come with me to a horse wedding."

I blinked once, twice, three times, trying to make sense of anything he just said. "You need me to- what?"

"Be my fake girlfriend to a horse wedding." Keefe had the decency to look sheepish.

"A... 'horse wedding'?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly is a... 'horse wedding'?"

Keefe shrugged, looking slightly lost. "It's hard to explain." I looked at him, eyes narrowed, utterly baffled. "Okay so... It's just... we'll just be watching Glitterbutt and Greyfall get married."

"You say that like it makes things clear."

"Uh, they're my horses. Well, they're not my horses, they're my sister's horses. Well, she's not technically my sister, she's my ex bodyguard."

I tried to speak, but all that came out of my mouth was useless sputtering noises. How was he making less and less sense? "Look, it's not important, but we need to be there in five hours, and it's a four hour drive, so we need to leave."

"What, right now? Keefe, It's the middle of the night, and I still have no idea what's happening!"

"Okay, what are the two of you on about?" Biana asked, from the other side of the room, having probably been woken up by out conversation.

I sighed, "If you can figure out, please tell me. I have no idea what's going on."

"It's simple really. I need Foster to be my fake date to a horse wedding because my sister/not sister/ex bodyguard thinks I have a girlfriend and wants to meet her."

I watched as Biana had the same reaction I did a while ago before just lying back down. "I'm going back to sleep. Have her home by midnight or I will pry your toenails off with a pair of dull tweezers."

"Okie Dokie. Alright, Foster, let's go!"

 **0o0o0**

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." I grumbled in the passenger seat of Keefe's (very expensive looking) car.

Keefe just chuckled, glancing over at me before focusing once again on the road. Cuddling up in the blanket I brought, I turned away from the bane of my existence. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get to this 'horse wedding'."

"Sure thing, Foster. You enjoy your nap."

"G'night."

 **0o0o0**

"You're lost, aren't you?"

"Shut up, I know exactly where I am!"

"Oh for the love of- Just ask for directions!"

"No!"

 **0o0o0**

"Hey, Foster, I'm stopping at 7-11 to get some coffee, do you want anything?"

"I want the last three hours of my life back."

"Chocolate donut it is."

 **0o0o0**

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"Is it the car next to us?"

"No."

"Is it your eyes in the rearview mirror?"

"No."

"Is it the sky?"

"Yup!"

"That's so boring, Keefe."

 **0o0o0**

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"Is it that wrapper on the ground?"

"No."

"Is it my pants?"

"No."

"Is it the lake?"

"No."

"...Is it the sky?"

"Yep."

"Didn't you already use that one?"

 **0o0o0**

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"It better not be the sky."

"You gotta guess."

"Fine. Is it the sky?

"Bingo."

"I'm gonna kill you."

 **0o0o0**

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"Keefe. This is the fourth time in a row you've used the sky, pick something else!"

 **0o0o0**

"I can't believe we're late. Ro is going to behead the pair of us. If you want to have a dramatic declarations of love, now is your last chance."

"Yes. I do. I would like the world to know that I love donuts."

"Noted for the records."

 **0o0o0**

"Got any cool stories to fill the time, Foster?"

"Yeah, I got one about how I went crazy because I was stuck in a car with Keefe Sencen for five hours. Spoiler alert: It ends with me killing you."

"You're a hoot."

 **0o0o0**

The car stopped. Looking up, I saw a classic farm, completed with the red building and corn field. "At last, we arrive. Two hours late."

Before I could reply, there was a screech that sounded like what a dragon would if they existed. "KEEFE. HUCKLEBERRY. SENCEN. YOU ARE ONE HOUR AND FIFTY-SEVEN MINUTES LATE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" I whipped around, finding a huge, pink-haired woman standing behind us, looking very angry. If I was less terrified of said pink-haired woman, I might have paid more attention to the fact that Keefe's middle name was Huckleberry.

Keefe just grinned, which was not the appropriate response for this scary of a situation. "Sorry, Ro. Traffic was terrible."

Oh, so that was Ro. Huh. I'm not sure what she had pictured, but seven feet of muscle wasn't it. Startling silver eyes mer my brown ones as Ro sized me up. "He got lost, didn't he?" I nodded, and Keefe glared at me, as if personally betrayed. I shrugged at him, not sorry in the least. "I'm so sorry you have to put up with him."

"I know, it's awful." I replied, matching her playful tone with my own.

Keefe groaned, tossing his head back. "I can't believe you two have ganged up on me. This is so not fair."

Ro and I shared a grin, before she spoke again. "Alright, now who is ready to see Glitterbutt get married?"

This was going to be interesting.

 **0o0o0**

"Are you ever going to explain exactly what a horse wedding is, or am I supposed to figure that out myself?" I whispered to Keefe as we trailed behind Ro, who was leading us to a stable.

"You'll see." Great. That's exactly what I needed. Vague, evasive answers. Fantastic.

Ro glanced at us. "What are you two lovebirds whispering about back there? Gossiping about my awesome hair?"

"No, we're gossiping about your horrible hair." Keefe retorted, smirk on his face almost too cheeky to comprehend.

Ro whipped around, giving him a dangerous glare. "You wanna repeat that, punk?

The grin fell off Keefe's face faster than you could blink. "No Ma'am." Satisfied, Ro turned back around.

"What was that about?"

"Last time I insulted her hair, she dropped me in the lake when I was sleeping, and I really don't want a repeat of that."

Shaking my head, I sighed. This was going to be a crazy day, apparently.

 **I like how this chapter turned out, but I'm not sure if I like how I wrote Ro... Might change it later. But I got to go to the doctor now (on my birthday, which sucks, but whatever), so yea**

 **I just love banter.**

 **Bye my Lovelies!**


End file.
